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The Factor Structure of Vocabulary: An Investigation of Breadth and Depth of Adults with Low Literacy Skills

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Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the factor structure of vocabulary. We believe that not only is vocabulary multidimensional, but depth of vocabulary knowledge should also be assessed with multiple measures since it too, is composed of multiple aspects. Furthermore, to explore the predictive validity of the different aspects of vocabulary knowledge, we assessed the relationship between vocabulary breadth, vocabulary depth, and reading comprehension in adults with low literacy skills. The participants were 103 adults. They completed 12 tasks that have been used in past studies to measure vocabulary breadth, depth, and reading comprehension. We had several important findings. First, we confirmed that all of the assessments were highly reliable for adults with low literacy skills. Second, the results of the factor analysis indicated two distinct vocabulary factors. Finally, both breadth and depth contribute independently to explaining variance in reading comprehension. Implications for vocabulary measurement are suggested.

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Funding

The project described was supported by Grant Number R15HD067755 from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development awarded to the last author. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development or the National Institutes of Health.

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  1. Department of Psychology and Education, Mount Holyoke College, 50 College St, South Hadley, MA, 01075, USA

    An H. Tran, Kathryn A. Tremblay & Katherine S. Binder

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  1. An H. Tran
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Correspondence to Katherine S. Binder.

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Tran, A.H., Tremblay, K.A. & Binder, K.S. The Factor Structure of Vocabulary: An Investigation of Breadth and Depth of Adults with Low Literacy Skills. J Psycholinguist Res 49, 335–350 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10936-020-09694-8

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