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Citation:

Sonnenschein, S., & Munsterman, K. (2002). The Influence of home-based reading interactions on 5-year-olds' reading motivations and early literacy development. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 17(3), 318-337.

Annotation:
This study explores the associations between the affective quality of young childrenÕs reading interactions with family members and childrenÕs early literacy skills and motivations for reading. The authors noted that the study was one of a very small number that have addressed the affective quality of reading interactions. The study found a significant association between the affective quality of the reading interaction and childrenÕs motivation for reading. However, neither the affective quality not the content of parentsÕ interactions was significantly related to any of the literacy-related skills assessed in the study. The authors found that reading frequency was most strongly associated with childrenÕs literacy-related skills. The study used a non-random sample of 30 families with 5-year-old children who were participating in a larger longitudinal study of childrenÕs reading development; for this study, the researchers included only families who reported having home-based storybook reading interactions at least once a month. Most of the families (25 of 30) were low-income; about half were African-Americans and half were European-Americans. During the summer before kindergarten entry, children in the study were videotaped reading both a familiar and an unfamiliar book with a member of their family. A researcher coded both the nature of comments made about each book and the affective quality of the interactions. A second coder was used on a subset of interactions to assure interrater reliability. Data also were collected from parents regarding the frequency of their childrenÕs home reading activities. Assessments of childrenÕs phonological awareness, orientation toward print, and story comprehension were made using adaptations of commonly used tasks; the researchers pilot-tested the measures to help assure their appropriateness for the children being studied.