Kindergarten self-control mediates the gender reading achievement gap: A population-based cohort study |
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Affiliation: | 1. Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center, Section of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, Lebanon, New Hampshire;2. Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire;3. The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia Pennsylvania |
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Abstract: | Could superior self-control explain the gender difference in reading achievement favoring girls? To test this idea, we drew on a unique population-based sample (N = 11,336) where self-control was measured in kindergarten using a multimethod battery of assessments. Girls showed substantially higher levels of self-control in kindergarten (β = 0.47) and outperformed boys on standardized tests of reading achievement in third/fourth grade (β = 0.20). Further, kindergarten self-control prospectively predicted reading achievement throughout elementary school (β = 0.37). Connecting these findings, our mediation analyses revealed that the female self-control advantage in kindergarten could account for subsequent gender differences in reading achievement. Our results suggest that early gender differences in self-control may represent a key pathway through which gender disparities in reading skills, vocabulary knowledge, and reading comprehension occur. |
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Keywords: | Self-control Self-regulation Academic achievement Sex differences Reading Social and emotional learning (SEL) |
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