Browsing by Subject "äännetaidot"

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate the dimensionality of linguistic skills in eight-year-old Finnish-speaking children. The study aimed to replicate a three-factor structure, consisting of low and high cognitive load phonological skills and other linguistic skills, that was previously found in a study conducted with English-speaking children. This study also explored whether familial risk for dyslexia is associated with an atypical structure of language abilities since the low performance of dyslexics in phonological tasks supports this possibility. Methods. The sample of this study consisted of 152 first grade children of which 84 were at increased familial risk for dyslexia (at-risk group). Language abilities were assessed with neurocognitive tests that measured phonological skills, rapid automatized naming, retrieval of words, understanding of instructions and working memory. A model of the dimensions of linguistic abilities was formed based on previous research by dividing the tests into low cognitive load phonological skills, high cognitive load phonological skills and other linguistic skills. Results and conclusions. Confirmatory factor analysis that was conducted to the entire sample did not support the hypothesized factor structure. According to explorative factor analyses threefactor structure fit the data in both groups but the observed factor structures were not consistent with the hypothesis. In both groups the observed factor structure contained factors that represented short-term memory and rapid automatized naming indicating that these skills are partially separate from other language abilities. In addition to these, in the control group the factor structure contained a factor that represented complex linguistic skills including both phonological and other language skills. In the at-risk group the observed factor structure did not include an equivalent factor but instead a factor that represented specifically phonological skills. The results indicate that in the control group phonological skills interweave with other complex language skills whereas in the at-risk group phonological skills form a separate set of abilities.