The significant intercept variances on both days showed there were sizeable differences between children in the time children spent reading in the evening at 4 years. The absence of an age effect on weekday evenings and the small size of the estimate on weekend evenings meant that these differences persisted from 4 to 8 years. The finding that there were no significant slope differences at the individual level, shows that the effect of viewing on reading was not stronger or weaker for different children. The associations were similar across children over time.
The strongest influence on time spent reading was time spent viewing, where an extra 15 minutes viewing time was associated with a decrease of between 5- and 8-minutes reading time. Figure 7.5 shows the trajectory of reading for the different levels of viewing that are described in Chapter 6. This figure shows that there was not a downward spiral where reading times decreased with increased viewing times. Rather, children who started out with high levels of viewing and low levels of reading, maintained this trajectory across ages. However, while evidence was not consistent with a downward spiral, results did suggest that children who started out on a trajectory of high viewing times and low reading times, were unlikely to close any gap that developed in their reading competence through lack of practice of reading skills (Protopapas, Sideridis, Mouzake & Simos, 2011). These issues will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 8.
In this context it is important to note that children in this sample had significantly higher receptive vocabulary scores and mothers who had higher levels of education than cases lost from the analysis in both the weekday and weekend datasets. This meant these children may have been less vulnerable to the effects of reduced reading times than children who had poorer language skills or mothers with less education. However, even in cases where children’s reading skills are developing normally, time spent reading at home still makes a substantial contribution to the development of reading skills (Mol & Bus, 2011).
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Viewing for more time than usual on a weekend evening meant that, on average, children read for less time that evening. For every 15 minutes extra evening viewing time, above the child’s mean evening viewing time, evening reading time decreased by 5 minutes. The fixed term was not significant in the weekday model, possibly because some of the slopes of children at level 2 were positive and some were negative, in which case the overall fixed effect was not be significant (Nezlek, 2012). The random intercept for the weekday term was significant suggesting this was likely to have been the case. This suggested that for some children the effect of viewing more than usual during the week meant they read for less time, but for other children viewing more than usual had no effect on their reading time that evening. That is, the effect of viewing more than usual varied for different children on weeknights (Hoffman & Stawski, 2009). It may be that some families protect reading activities more on weeknights, even if children view more than usual. This issue will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 8.
7.5.3 Covariates and Associations Between Evening Viewing and
Reading
The between-person effect (person-mean term) was negatively associated with evening reading time. There were positive associations between evening reading time and available evening time, mother’s education, and, on weekends, family activities. The strongest
influence on time spent reading, however, was time spent viewing, where an extra 15 minutes viewing was associated with a decrease of between 6 and 8 minutes in reading time. Each increase in mother’s education (for example obtaining a degree) meant reading time increased by a minute on weekdays and weekends. For each extra 15 minutes of available evening time children read for an additional minute, on average, on weekdays and weekends. Children read for an extra 3 minutes for each increase in the family activities variable (a measure of both the frequency and number of activities conducted with children) on weekends. The covariates will be discussed in more detail in Chapter 8.
It should be noted that the covariates were included in the model as time invariant terms. This meant that their effects reflected their mean value across the 4 years. Two covariates,
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mother’s education and PPVT-III scores were not likely to have changed greatly in this period. However, family activities were likely to have changed as children got older and developed new skills and interests. This meant that using this variable as a time invariant predictor may have underestimated its associations with reading. Even if this were the case, it is unlikely that its effect would out-weigh the effect of viewing.
7.6 Conclusion
The analysis in Chapter 5 showed the evening was the time when most children read. This was also the time of day when viewing and reading were most likely to compete. This chapter examined whether associations between viewing and reading time during the evening could be described as a downward spiral. Results suggested this was not the case. Children who viewed more and read less maintained this trajectory over time. Particularly because the effect for long term differences between children in viewing behaviour at this time of day over time, were more strongly associated with reading times than fluctuations in viewing times on a particular evening. Basing the analysis on ordinary days and focussing on the evening when behaviour is more likely to be consistent across days meant associations were more likely to generalise beyond the diary day. This suggested that patterns of heavy viewing and reduced reading at this time would be likely to have a cumulative impact on reading development and become substantial over time.
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