Reading from childhood to adolescence: enduring influences of home environment on behaviour, motivation and proficiency

According to theoretical models of reading engagement, reading behaviours and reading motivation both influence reading proficiency. Additionally, annual surveys of young people’s reading engagement show decreasing numbers of children who report enjoying reading over time and across ages, but we lack longitudinal evidence confirming this decline. To examine the complex interaction between reading motivation, reading behaviour and reading proficiency, this study investigated: i) how young people’s motivation to read and reading behaviours change from age 10 to 15; ii) whether their engagement with reading is shaped by the home literacy environment (HLE); and iii) whether young people’s motivation to read determines their reading behaviours, in turn promoting reading comprehension. Data from a longitudinal study in [Blinded], UK (n = 598, 285 girls) were used to model the influence of HLE, reading motivation and reading behaviour on reading comprehension skills. Reading motivation, reading behaviour (i.e. time spent reading) and reading comprehension were assessed from age 10 to 15 and HLE was assessed in a subsample at age 11 (n = 299). Growth models showed that reading motivation and time spent reading declined from 11 to 13 years and then stabilised from age 14-15. However, trajectories of change differed across sex and socioeconomic status. In mediation models, the home literacy environment at age 11 was associated with children’s own reading engagement and showed direct and indirect associations with children’s reading comprehension outcomes. Our findings highlight the crucial influence of reading motivation on reading outcomes and uncover a longer-term role of HLE than previously assumed, extending well beyond childhood.