Profiles of home literacy environments and their associations with language and literacy skills in Chinese preschool children

This study used a person-centered approach to examine variation in preschool children’s home literacy environments (HLE) and associations with family demographics and children’s language and literacy skills. A total of 235 Chinese children (48% girls; M age = 5 years) from urban, mid-SES families in a central Chinese city participated. Parents reported on traditional and digital home literacy practices and resources, and children were assessed on receptive vocabulary, listening comprehension, story comprehension, and character recognition. Latent profile analysis identified three profiles: low HLE (21.2%), high HLE (21.8%), and traditional, informal HLE (57.0%). Children from high HLE families scored higher than those from low HLE families in language and literacy skills, and higher than children from traditional, informal HLE families in literacy skills. Children from traditional, informal HLE families showed stronger vocabulary skills than those from low HLE families. Findings highlight meaningful heterogeneity among urban, mid-SES Chinese families in children’s home literacy experiences.