| The development of early social and language abilities is integral for successful classroom participation and early reading achievement (Cain, Oakhill, & Bryant, 2004; Catts & Weismer, 2006; Merritt, Wanless, Rimm-Kaufman, & Peugh, 2012; Rotheram-Fuller, Kasari, Chamberlain, & Locke, 2010). Studies have suggested that social skills, such as accepting others’ ideas, understanding classroom expectations, and initiating interactions are important for classroom learning (Arnold, Kupersmidt, Voegler-Lee, & Marshall, 2012; Halle, Hair, Wandner, & Chien, 2012) and provide a foundation for academic success during middle childhood—a critical developmental period spanning from 6–۱۱ years (Del Giudice, 2014; Speece et al., 2010). Inversely, strong language skills, including vocabulary, are essential in social competence (Mashburn, Justice, Downer, & Pianta, 2009) and widely accepted as crucial for reading achievement (National Reading Panel [NRP], 2000; Nation & Snowling, 2004). Although links between social, language, and reading skills have been established, much of the literature has suggested unidirectional associations among the variables, with social skills and vocabulary influencing reading development (e.g., McClelland, Acock, & Morrison, 2006; Nation & Snowling, 2004). Only a few studies have suggested potential reciprocal relations among the variables (e.g., Arnold et al., 2012; Connor et al., 2016; Trzesniewski, Moffitt, Caspi, Taylor, & Maughan, 2006). Connor and colleagues (2016) highlighted the dynamic interplay between semantic knowledge (knowledge of words) and reading comprehension, documenting the reciprocal nature of development during middle childhood. Trzesniewski and colleagues also suggested reciprocal relations between social and reading abilities, suggesting that students who struggle to read feel a loss of self-esteem and relatedness toward their higher achieving peers— beginning a negative cycle of social and academic withdrawal (Trzesniewski et al., 2006). |
