Abstract

A total of 54 children partecipated in this longitudinal study, which spanned a period of 3 years (children of 5, 6 and 7 years of age). Aim of this reasearch was the study of the developmental association between Phonological Awareness, Verbal STM and reading, with Non-Verbal Intelligence and Vocabulary factors partialled out. The results indicate that Verbal STM, more than Phonological awareness, exert a direct casual influence on reading ability. Both factors anyway, make unique contribution to reading ability, suggesting that these variables tap different reading related skills. Results reveal different pattern of association for Phonological Awareness and Verbal STM tasks across the three reading measures considered (Comprehension, Accuracy and Speedness).