Preschool Verbal and Nonverbal Ability Mediate the Association Between Socioeconomic Status and School Performance

• von Stumm, Sophie ^[1] ; Rimfeld, Kaili ^[3] ; Dale, Philip S. ^[2] ; Plomin, Robert ^[3]
  1. [1] University of York

     University of York

     Reino Unido

     
  2. [2] University of New Mexico

     University of New Mexico

     Estados Unidos

     
  3. [3] Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK

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• Localización: Child development, ISSN 0009-3920, Vol. 91, Nº. 3, 2020, págs. 705-714
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • We compared the extent to which the long-term influence of family socioeconomic status (SES) on children's school performance from age 7 through 16 years was mediated by their preschool verbal and nonverbal ability. In 661 British children, who completed 17 researcher-administered ability tests at age 4.5 years, SES correlated more strongly with verbal than nonverbal ability (.39 vs. .26). Verbal ability mediated about half of the association between SES and school performance at age 7, while nonverbal ability accounted for a third of the link. Only SES, but not verbal or nonverbal ability, was associated with changes in school performance from age 7 to 16. We found that SES-related differences in school performance are only partly transmitted through children's preschool verbal abilities.