Levesque Kyle C, Kieffer Michael J, Deacon S Hélène
Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia B3H 4R2, Canada.
Department of Teaching and Learning, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA.
J Exp Child Psychol. 2017 Aug;160:1-20. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2017.02.015. Epub 2017 Mar 30.
The relation between morphological awareness-defined as the awareness of and ability to manipulate the smallest units of meaning in language-and reading comprehension remains in need of specification. In this study, we evaluated four potential intervening variables through which morphological awareness may contribute indirectly to reading comprehension. We assessed word reading and vocabulary as well as children's ability to read and analyze the meaning of morphologically complex words (morphological decoding and morphological analysis, respectively). Controls of phonological awareness and nonverbal ability were included in the model. Participants were 221 English-speaking children in Grade 3. Multivariate path analyses revealed evidence of two indirect relations and one direct relation between morphological awareness and reading comprehension. In the first indirect path, morphological awareness contributed to morphological decoding, which then influenced word reading and finally reading comprehension. In a second indirect path, morphological awareness contributed to morphological analysis, which contributed to reading comprehension. Finally, in a direct path, morphological awareness contributed to reading comprehension beyond all other variables. These findings inform as to the potential mechanisms underlying the relation between morphological awareness and reading comprehension in children.
形态意识（定义为对语言中最小意义单位的认知及操作能力）与阅读理解之间的关系仍有待明确。在本研究中，我们评估了四个潜在的中介变量，形态意识可能通过它们间接影响阅读理解。我们评估了单词阅读和词汇量，以及儿童阅读和分析形态复杂单词意义的能力（分别为形态解码和形态分析）。模型中纳入了语音意识和非语言能力的控制变量。研究参与者为221名三年级说英语的儿童。多变量路径分析揭示了形态意识与阅读理解之间存在两种间接关系和一种直接关系的证据。在第一条间接路径中，形态意识有助于形态解码，进而影响单词阅读，最终影响阅读理解。在第二条间接路径中，形态意识有助于形态分析，进而促进阅读理解。最后，在直接路径中，形态意识对阅读理解的贡献超过了所有其他变量。这些发现为儿童形态意识与阅读理解之间关系的潜在机制提供了信息。
