Home-literacy environment of low-income rural families: Association with child- and caregiver-level characteristics

Abstract

The aim of this study was to examine the nature and interrelatedness of four active dimensions of the home-literacy environment of low-income rural families (parent-child interactions, child interest, library use, and access to books) and to determine the extent to which characteristics of the caregiver and child predict these dimensions. Caregivers of 466 preschool-aged rural children completed a questionnaire regarding the home-literacy environment and demographic information regarding individuals in the household during the fall of the academic year. Children were also administered a language measure within the same time frame. Apart from library use, there was significant variability in rural children's engagement in the various dimensions of the home-literacy environment. The home-literacy environment of rural children was significantly associated with caregivers' maternal education, income level, and history of reading difficulty as well as children's language ability and gender. These findings may better enable policymakers to target programs towards children most at-risk of experiencing impoverished home-literacy environments.