Predictors of developmental dyslexia in European orthographies with varying complexity

Landerl, Karin and Ramus, Franck and Moll, Kristina and Tóth, Dénes and Honbolygó, Ferenc and Csépe, Valéria (2013) Predictors of developmental dyslexia in European orthographies with varying complexity. JOURNAL OF CHILD PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHIATRY, 54 (6). pp. 686-694. ISSN 0021-9630

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Abstract

Background: The relationship between phoneme awareness, rapid automatized naming (RAN), verbal short-term/working memory (ST/WM) and diagnostic category is investigated in control and dyslexic children, and the extent to which this depends on orthographic complexity. Methods: General cognitive, phonological and literacy skills were tested in 1138 control and 1114 dyslexic children speaking 6 different languages spanning a large range of orthographic complexity (Finnish, Hungarian, German, Dutch, French, English). Results: Phoneme deletion and RAN were strong concurrent predictors of developmental dyslexia, while verbal ST/WM and general verbal abilities played a comparatively minor role. In logistic regression models, more participants were classified correctly when orthography was more complex. The impact of phoneme deletion and RAN-digits was stronger in complex than in less complex orthographies. Conclusions: Findings are largely consistent with the literature on predictors of dyslexia and literacy skills, while uniquely demonstrating how orthographic complexity exacerbates some symptoms of dyslexia.

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