Modeling the influence of motor skills on literacy in third grade: Contributions of executive functions and handwriting

Several nonlanguage factors influence literacy development, and motor skills are among those most studied. Despite the publication of several studies that have supported the existence of this relationship, the type of influence and underlying mechanisms have been little explored. Herein, we propose modeling the relationship between motor skills and literacy through structural equation modeling, testing the contribution of executive functions and handwriting skills as the possible mediators of this relationship. In a study of 278 third-grade children, we used a wide range of measures related to written language (reading, spelling, reading comprehension, and written production), fine motor skills (dominant hand, nondominant hand, and bimanual dexterity), executive functions (verbal and visuospatial working memory, inhibition, and shifting), and handwriting. Structural equation modeling of the relationship between these different variables indicated that in the third grade, the influence of fine motor skills on literacy is fully mediated by both executive functions and handwriting skills. These motor skills effects are observed for both low levels of processing (reading, spelling) and high levels of processing (reading comprehension, written production). The results are discussed in terms of the potential mechanisms underlying different literacy skills and their implications for pedagogical programs.