2015 Volume 3 Issue 2 Pages 23-34
The present study aimed to investigate the developmental changes in risk factors for kanji word-reading difficulty in second- to sixth-grade children (N=843). A multiple logistic analysis was conducted, and significant odds ratios were revealed for difficulty in reading kanji words with high imageability, which was accompanied by low performance on a kana word searching test in the second, third, and fourth grades. In addition, significant odds ratios were found for difficulty in reading kanji words with low imageability under combined occurrences of low performance on forward and backward digit recall tests in the fifth and sixth grades. It may be concluded, based on these results, that a lack of fluency in kana word reading could be mainly a risk factor in lower grades, while the malfunction of verbal working memory could be a risk factor in higher grades, indicating that risk factors might change with increases in grade.
