Studies have demonstrated significant associations between executive function (EF) and reading ability. Many of these studies have evaluated this association through composite EF skills. In this study, we evaluated the indirect effects of working memory (WM) and cognitive flexibility (CF) in the relation between kindergarten socioeconomic status (SES) and first-grade reading achievement. Through a two-period estimation of mediating effects, we also examined these same relationships within low-achieving (LA) and typically developing (TD) readers. For these investigations, nationally representative data from the United States were utilised from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011. Results revealed significant EF and SES differences between TD and LA readers. Additionally, WM mediated around 11% of the association between kindergarten SES and first-grade reading achievement while CF mediated 2.6%. The comparison of results between LA and TD readers yielded differences in mediating effects. For LA readers, 15% of the association was mediated by WM, but for TD only, 7.8% was mediated. CF mediated a small amount in both groups. Both WM and CF mediate the relation between kindergarten SES and first-grade reading achievement. These findings are important because they provide clear evidence that EF ability may partially account for achievement gaps in reading ability from kindergarten to first grade.

中文翻译：

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社会经济地位和早期阅读成绩：工作记忆和认知灵活性如何调节低成绩和通常发展的 K 与一年级学生的关系

研究表明执行功能 (EF) 与阅读能力之间存在显着关联。其中许多研究通过复合 EF 技能评估了这种关联。在这项研究中，我们评估了工作记忆 (WM) 和认知灵活性 (CF) 在幼儿园社会经济地位 (SES) 和一年级阅读成绩之间关系中的间接影响。通过对中介效应的两期估计，我们还检查了低成就 (LA) 和典型发展中 (TD) 读者中的这些相同关系。对于这些调查，来自美国的具有全国代表性的数据来​​自 2010-2011 年幼儿园班的幼儿纵向研究。结果显示 TD 和 LA 读者之间存在显着的 EF 和 SES 差异。此外，WM 调节了幼儿园 SES 与一年级阅读成绩之间关联的 11%，而 CF 调节了 2.6%。LA 和 TD 读者之间的结果比较产生了中介效应的差异。对于 LA 读者，15% 的关联是由 WM 介导的，但对于 TD，7.8% 是由 WM 介导的。CF 在两组中都有少量介导。WM和CF均在幼儿园SES与一年级阅读成绩之间起中介作用。这些发现很重要，因为它们提供了明确的证据，证明 EF 能力可能部分解释了从幼儿园到一年级的阅读能力成绩差距。15% 的关联是由 WM 介导的，但仅对于 TD，7.8% 是由 WM 介导的。CF 在两组中都有少量介导。WM和CF均在幼儿园SES与一年级阅读成绩之间起中介作用。这些发现很重要，因为它们提供了明确的证据，表明 EF 能力可能部分解释了从幼儿园到一年级的阅读能力成绩差距。15% 的关联是由 WM 介导的，但仅对于 TD，7.8% 是由 WM 介导的。CF 在两组中都有少量介导。WM和CF均在幼儿园SES与一年级阅读成绩之间起中介作用。这些发现很重要，因为它们提供了明确的证据，证明 EF 能力可能部分解释了从幼儿园到一年级的阅读能力成绩差距。