Television's Impact on Children's Reading Comprehension and Decoding Skills: A 3‐Year Panel Study

Abstract

S Using a sample of 1,050 Dutch elementary school children who were in Grades 2 and 4 at the outset of the research, this study explored (a) the longitudinal effects of television viewing on children's reading comprehension, (b) the causal mechanisms that underlie television's longitudinal effects on reading comprehension, and (c) the longitudinal effects of television viewing on children's decoding skills. The children were surveyed three times, at 1‐year intervals. Structural equations analyses suggested that television viewing inhibited the development of children's reading comprehension in both 1‐year intervals of the study. Television's inhibitory effect on reading comprehension was not sensitive to children's IQ and socioeconomic status, but did depend on types of programs watched. Partial support was found for two causal mechanisms underlying television's inhibitory effect on reading comprehension: (a) a television‐induced reduction in leisure‐time book reading and (b) a television‐induced depreciation of reading. Watching subtitled foreign television programs was found to stimulate the development of decoding skills. SE UTILIZÓ una muestra de 1.050 niños hol andeses de escuela primaria que estaban en 2° y 4° grado al comenzar la investigación. El estudio exploró (a) los efectos longitudinales de mirar televisión en la comprensión lectora de los niños, (b) los mecanismos causales que subyacen a los efectos longitudinales de la televisión sobre la comprensión lectora, y (c) los efectos longitudinales de mirar televisión en las habilidades de decodificación de los niños. Los niños fueron examinados tres veces, con intervalos de un año. Los análisis de ecuaciones estructurales sugieren que mirar televisión inhibió el desarrollo de la comprensión lectora en ambos intervalos de un año del estudio. El efecto inhibidor de la televisión sobre la comprensión lectora no fue sensible al CI y estatus socioeconómica o ESE de los niños, pero dependió de los tipos de programas mirados. Se encontró evidencia parcial de dos mecanismos causales subyacentes al efecto inhibidor de la televisión sobre la comprensión lectora: (a) una reducción, inducida por la televisión, del tiempo de lectura por placer y (b) una desvalorización de la lectura inducida por la televisión. Se observó también que mirar programas de televisión extranjeros subtitulados estimula el desarrollo de las habilidades de decodificación. UNTER VERWENDUNG eines Samples von 1050 niederländischen Grundschulkindern, die sich zu Beginn der Untersuchung auf der zweiten und vierten Schulstufe befanden, erforschte die Studie (a) die Langzeiteffekte, die Fernsehen bei der Sinnerfassung beim Lesen bewirkt, (b) die kausalen Zusammenhänge, die den FernsehLangzeiteffekten hinsichtlich der Sinnerfassung beim Lesen zugrunde liegen, und (c) die Langzeiteffekte des Fernsehens auf die Dekodierfähigkeiten von Kindern. Die Schüler wurden dreimal überprüft, in einjährigen Intervallen. Strukturelle Analysen nach dem Gleichsetzungsprinzip legen den Schluß nahe, daß das Fer...

Extensive Television Viewing and the Development of Attention and Learning Difficulties During Adolescence

“…[6][7][8][9]11,13,14,16 In addition, they support the inference that attention difficulties, frequent failure to complete homework, and negative attitudes toward school may each play an important mediating role in the association between extensive television viewing during adolescence and ultimate educational failure. These findings add to a growing body of evidence indicating that frequent entertainment and general audience television viewing during adolescence may be associated with risk for the development of a wide range of cognitive and behavioral deficits that are associated with risk for poor longterm educational achievement.…”

“…[1][2][3][4]15 Frequent viewing of entertainment and general audience television programming during childhood and adolescence has been hypothesized to contribute to persistent reductions in educational and intellectual functioning 14 because it displaces reading and homework, requires relatively little intellectual effort, and promotes attention problems and disinterest in school. 2,6,7,11,16,17 Research findings supporting this hypothesis have indicated that overall television viewing time during childhood and adolescence may be associated with elevated risk for the development of attention problems, educational difficulties, poor reading comprehen-sion, and other cognitive deficits. [6][7][8][9]11,13,14 Entertainment and general audience television viewing may be differentially associated with decreases in reading and educational activities, and informative programs designed for children may be associated with improvements in letter and word recognition.…”

“…We describe findings of the Children in the Community Study, 19 a community-based longitudinal investigation that meets these methodological criteria. The primary objective of our present study was to investigate the association of frequent television viewing during adolescence with risk for persistent attention and learning difficulties 6,7,11,16,17 and with poor long-term educational outcomes. 14 The families were randomly sampled on the basis of residence in 2 upstate New York counties in 1975, when maternal interviews were conducted regarding 1 randomly sampled child between the ages of 1 and 10 years from each family.…”

“…2,[6][7][8][9]11,13,14,16,17 Verbal intelligence was assessed at mean ages 14 and 16 years with a picture vocabulary test. 24 Verbal IQ scores were averaged and dichotomized (Ͻ100 vs Ն100).…”

Parental media socialization and educational attainment: Resource or disadvantage?

“…When it comes to the effects of television consumption results seem equivocal. Scholars testing displacement theory show that especially lowbrow (entertainment) television consumption absorbs time that otherwise might be spent on educational activities, like doing homework and reading (Hancox et al, 2005;Koolstra, Van der Voort, & Van der Kamp, 1997). Other studies, find that watching educational television programs enhances children's school readiness (Wright et al, 2001).…”