Modeling Complex Word Reading: Examining Influences at the Level of the Word and Child on Mono- and Polymorphemic Word Reading.

Purpose: The probability of a child reading a word correctly is influenced by both child skills and properties of the word. The purpose of this study was to investigate child-level skills (set for variability and vocabulary), word-level properties (concreteness), word structure (mono- vs. polymorphemic), and interactions between these properties and word structure within a comprehensive item-level model of complex word reading. This study is unique in that it purposely sampled both mono- and polymorphemic polysyllabic words.
Method: A sample of African American ( n = 69) and Hispanic ( n =6) students in grades 2-5 ( n =75) read a set of mono- and polymorphemic polysyllabic words ( J =54). Item-level responses were modeled using cross-classified generalized random-effects models allowing variance to be partitioned between child and word while controlling for other important child factors and word features.
Results: Set for variability and the interaction between concreteness and word structure (i.e., mono- vs. polymorphemic) were significant predictors. Higher probabilities of reading poly- over monomorphemic words were identified at lower levels of concreteness with the opposite at higher levels of concreteness.
Conclusions: Results indicate important predictors at both the child- and word-level and support the importance of morphological structure for reading abstract polysyllabic words.
Competing Interests: Conflict of Interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.