What does this research mean for the field?

Morphological knowledge significantly predicts the decoding of multimorphemic words in Swedish children with typical reading development, but not in those with reading difficulties, for whom working memory is a more significant predictor. Novelty: ClaimNovelty.INCREMENTAL. Consensus alignment: ConsensusAlignment.NEUTRAL.

What question did this study set out to answer?

To examine how morphological knowledge uniquely contributes to decoding multimorphemic words in early Swedish readers with typical development compared to those with reading difficulties.

August 22, 2026Scientific Studies of ReadingOpen Access

The Relationship Between Morphological Knowledge and Decoding Ability for Swedish Children with Typical Reading Development and Children with Reading Difficulties

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Authors

EHElin HällströmLuleå University of Technology JTJanne von Koss TorkildsenGoogle (United States)BSBirgitta SahlénLund University

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Implication

Cross-sectional analysis reveals morphological knowledge predicts complex word decoding in typical early readers but not struggling readers, indicating decoding relies on basic mastery.

Key Points

To examine how morphological knowledge uniquely contributes to decoding multimorphemic words in early Swedish readers with typical development compared to those with reading difficulties.
Assessed 299 Grade 2 children (ages 8–9; 185 with typical reading development, 114 with reading difficulties; n=156 girls) recruited from 12 Swedish schools.
Conducted mixed-effects linear regression models with random intercepts for school, controlling for working memory, rapid automatized naming, nonword repetition, and general word reading skills.
Morphological knowledge, particularly the ability to manipulate word morphological structure, uniquely and significantly predicted multimorphemic word decoding across the full cohort and within the typical reading development group.
Morphological knowledge did not significantly predict decoding in children with reading difficulties, where working memory and general word reading skills served as significant predictors.

Cite This Study

Hällström et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a895f0dca7ade938187d66f https://doi.org/10.1080/10888438.2026.2718137

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Implication

Cross-sectional analysis reveals morphological knowledge predicts complex word decoding in typical early readers but not struggling readers, indicating decoding relies on basic mastery.

The Relationship Between Morphological Knowledge and Decoding Ability for Swedish Children with Typical Reading Development and Children with Reading Difficulties

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

The Relationship Between Morphological Knowledge and Decoding Ability for Swedish Children with Typical Reading Development and Children with Reading Difficulties

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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