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Identifying Risk Factors for Low Reading Proficiency in Adults

Summary/Abstract: Low reading proficiency among adults may be associated with economic, legal, and health-related consequences. According to the 2012 PIAAC survey, this issue affects nearly one in five adults in Poland. Such individuals may struggle to comprehend even simple texts written in everyday language. Despite this, there are still few effective diagnostic methods that would allow for a better description of this phenomenon, its examination, and the subsequent introduction of effective interventions. This article presents a reanalysis of PIAAC data aimed at selecting the most predictive background questionnaire items for reading proficiency. It then describes a study in which adults of varying ages and educational levels (N = 400) completed a reading comprehension test and answered questions regarding demographic characteristics, living conditions, and reading habits. The regression model showed that lower educational levels, a low number of books in the home at age 14, a reported need for assistance with reading medical materials, and a self-assessed low reading proficiency accounted for a significant portion of the variance in the model and were associated with lower reading scores. An additional model, which included questions about work tasks among employers (N = 246), also indicated that performing physical work was associated with lower scores. The proposed questions may serve as a basis for creating a questionnaire to help identify adults at risk of having reading difficulties. At the same time, they cannot replace a performance-based test that directly measures the practical application of reading skills.

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