Bioecological theory suggests that development, including reading development, occurs through interactions between individuals
and proximal environmental contexts (Bronfenbrenner & Ceci, 2004), though neighborhood characteristics are often underrepresented
within studies of proximal processes on reading outcomes. The present study sought to further knowledge of the environmental influences on
reading comprehension by proposing several hypothesized risk and protective aspects of the neighborhood environment and using a novel
combination of techniques to explore their association with FCAT reading. The results of this exploration indicated that of the proposed
neighborhood features, distance to shelters was the sole predictor of FCAT reading scores after accounting for family- and community-level
SES. Additionally, the present study was concerned with examining the proportion of shared environmental influences on FCAT reading which
were accounted for by neighborhood characteristics. Distance to shelters was able to explain a significant proportion of shared
environmental influences in this study, marking an additional component of environmental influences on reading. These results help to
develop a more comprehensive model of the etiological influences involved in reading comprehension skills. The findings also serve to
inform instructional practices and future intervention research targeted to improving reading comprehension skills. / A Dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. / Fall Semester 2016. / August 12, 2016. / behavior genetics, bioecological theory, neighborhood environment, reading comprehension / Includes bibliographical references. / Sara A. Hart, Professor Directing Dissertation; Beth M. Phillips, University Representative;
Colleen Ganley, Committee Member; Christopher Schatschneider, Committee Member; Jeanette Taylor, Committee Member.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_405600 |
| Contributors | Little, Callie W. (authoraut), Hart, Sara (professor directing dissertation), Phillips, Beth M. (university representative), Ganley, Colleen M. (committee member), Schatschneider, Christopher (committee member), Taylor, Jeanette E. (committee member), Florida State University (degree granting institution), College of Arts and Sciences (degree granting college), Department of Psychology (degree granting departmentdgg) |
| Publisher | Florida State University, Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English, English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text, text |
| Format | 1 online resource (83 pages), computer, application/pdf |
| Rights | This Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them. |
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