Bernabini Luca, Bonifacci Paola, de Jong Peter F
Department of Psychology, University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.
Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
Front Psychol. 2021 Feb 25;12:577488. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.577488. eCollection 2021.
Math and reading are related, and math problems are often accompanied by problems in reading. In the present study, we used a dimensional approach and we aimed to assess the relationship of reading and math with the cognitive skills assumed to underlie the development of math. The sample included 97 children from 4th and 5th grades of a primary school. Children were administered measures of reading and math, non-verbal IQ, and various underlying cognitive abilities of math (counting, number sense, and number system knowledge). We also included measures of phonological awareness and working memory (WM). Two approaches were undertaken to elucidate the relations of the cognitive skills with math and reading. In the first approach, we examined the unique contributions of math and reading ability, as well as their interaction, to each cognitive ability. In the second approach, the cognitive abilities were taken to predict math and reading. Results from the first set of analyses showed specific effects of math on number sense and number system knowledge, whereas counting was affected by both math and reading. No math-by-reading interactions were observed. In contrast, for phonological awareness, an interaction of math and reading was found. Lower performing children on both math and reading performed disproportionately lower. Results with respect to the second approach confirmed the specific relation of counting, number sense, and number system knowledge to math and the relation of counting to reading but added that each math-related marker contributed independently to math. Following this approach, no unique effects of phonological awareness on math and reading were found. In all, the results show that math is specifically related to counting, number sense, and number system knowledge. The results also highlight what each approach can contribute to an understanding of the relations of the various cognitive correlates with reading and math.
数学和阅读相互关联，数学问题常常伴随着阅读问题。在本研究中，我们采用了维度方法，旨在评估阅读和数学与被认为是数学发展基础的认知技能之间的关系。样本包括一所小学四、五年级的97名儿童。对儿童进行了阅读和数学、非言语智商以及数学的各种潜在认知能力（计数、数感和数字系统知识）的测试。我们还纳入了语音意识和工作记忆（WM）的测试。采用了两种方法来阐明认知技能与数学和阅读之间的关系。在第一种方法中，我们研究了数学和阅读能力及其相互作用对每种认知能力的独特贡献。在第二种方法中，将认知能力用于预测数学和阅读。第一组分析的结果显示，数学对数字感和数字系统知识有特定影响，而计数则受到数学和阅读两者的影响。未观察到数学与阅读的交互作用。相比之下，对于语音意识，发现了数学和阅读的交互作用。在数学和阅读方面表现较差的儿童表现得格外差。关于第二种方法的结果证实了计数、数字感和数字系统知识与数学的特定关系以及计数与阅读的关系，但还表明每个与数学相关的指标对数学都有独立贡献。按照这种方法，未发现语音意识对数学和阅读有独特影响。总体而言，结果表明数学与计数、数字感和数字系统知识有特定关联。结果还突出了每种方法对理解各种认知相关因素与阅读和数学之间关系的贡献。
