Cognitive predictors of reading-arithmetic associations and dissociations:A longitudinal study

Reading and arithmetic are foundational skills for academic development and are positively associated with one another. The underlying basis of this connection remains unclear, because previous research has primarily focused on either their associations or dissociations, thus considering only one aspect at a time. This longitudinal study aims to fill this gap by investigating predictors of shared and unique variance in reading and arithmetic throughout the first three years of formal instruction. We addressed the contribution of domain-general (nonverbal IQ and working memory) and domain-specific (phonological awareness, RAN, counting, magnitude processing and number knowledge) cognitive factors. The sample comprised 357 English- and German-speaking children. Cognitive predictors were assessed in Grade 1. Reading fluency, arithmetic fluency, and arithmetic accuracy were assessed in Grades 1, 2, and 3. Results of partial correlation and multivariate multiple regression analyses indicated that RAN and number knowledge explained most of shared variance between skill domains, and phonological awareness explained additional covariance with arithmetic accuracy. Domain-general predictors played a less important role. Results of cross-lagged panel models showed that phonological awareness and RAN predicted specific variance in reading, magnitude processing contributed specific variance to arithmetic. Our findings are consistent with the notion of partial overlap, as they suggest that reading and arithmetic share a common basis, related to the integration of verbal, visual and semantic information and symbolic processing. However, these two skill-domains also relate to unique cognitive factors that explain their dissociation.