The relationship between basic auditory processing, prosodic sensitivity and reading in German adults

Prosodic sensitivity (PS) and phonological awareness (PA) are reading-related predictors in children, which themselves might be affected by basic auditory processing (BAP). This study proposes a new model that considers possible relations between all three variables and reading. Skilled adult reading is examined to exclude possible developmental influences and obtain more information about mature reading. One hundred thirty-eight German-speaking adults (mean age: 26 years) completed three measures of BAP (frequency, intensity and amplitude rise time discrimination), two sentence-based PS tasks, a PA task, and three word and nonword reading tasks. Structural equation modelling revealed a significant direct effect of PS on reading, a significant direct effect of BAP on PS and an indirect effect of BAP on reading via PS. The results strengthen the relevance of BAP skills and PS for reading in adults.