Parenting antecedents of parent-child shared-reading quality in a low-income sample: a pilot study

This study examined the relation between parenting and shared reading quality. Participants included 28 infants (M = 24.66 mos, SD = 8.41mos) and their parents. Measures included observations of parenting and shared reading quality, assessments of child cognitive and language development, and home reading practices. Higher quality parenting was found to be significantly, positively correlated with higher quality shared reading interactions. Of the specific domains of parenting behaviors assessed, teaching behaviors demonstrated the strongest relationship with shared reading quality. Parental self-reports of reading frequency was not correlated with observed shared-reading quality. Shared-reading quality was predictive of children\u27s receptive language outcomes; the addition of shared-reading frequency did not improve prediction. The potential importance of specific parenting practices and high quality parent-child shared reading interactions in facilitating children\u27s language development is discussed