Maria Psyridou

• Salins, Andrea; Khanolainen, Daria; Robidoux, Serje; Psyridou, Maria; Salminen, Jenni Elina & Torppa, Minna (2026). Understanding Reading Development: The Interplay of Fluency, Engagement, and Reading Anxiety in Early Grades. Reading Research Quarterly. ISSN 0034-0553. 61(3). doi: 10.1002/rrq.70122. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Reading achievement is positively associated with reading engagement; however, reading anxiety may undermine this relationship by reinforcing avoidance behaviors and reducing engagement. This study investigated whether reading anxiety mediates the association between early reading fluency and later reading engagement, and whether child interest or parent importance value for reading moderate this relationship. The reading skills of approximately 660 children were assessed in Grades 1 and 2. Reading engagement (i.e., reading frequency and avoidance) was measured in both grades, while reading anxiety, children's interest in reading, and parental value placed on reading were assessed in Grade 2. Structural equation modeling was used to examine the mediating role of reading anxiety and the moderating effects of child and parental task values. Grade 1 reading fluency skills predicted Grade 2 fluency, indicating that early reading skills have a direct effect on later reading achievement. Additionally, they predicted Grade 2 reading anxiety, with higher early reading fluency predicting lower anxiety levels. Reading anxiety, in turn, was negatively associated with both Grade 2 reading fluency and reading frequency and it significantly mediated the relationship between Grade 1 fluency and Grade 2 reading frequency. Children's interest in reading was positively associated with both fluency and frequency, while parental value was associated with frequency only. However, neither child nor parent reading values moderated the associations between anxiety and either fluency or frequency. These findings highlight the importance of addressing early reading fluency difficulties and reading anxiety to foster sustained reading engagement and support long-term reading development.

• Torppa, Minna; Psyridou, Maria; Khanolainen, Daria; Koponen, Tuire & Salminen, Jenni Elina (2025). Role of home math environment in the intergenerational transmission of math skills. Learning and Instruction. ISSN 0959-4752. 97. doi: 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102080. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  Background Mathematical difficulties among parents seem to be a major risk factor for a child's mathematical development. At the same time, the home math environment (HME) has been reported to be associated with children's mathematical skills. Aims To examine the role of formal (teaching) and informal (games and everyday activities) HME in the intergenerational transmission of arithmetic skills. Sample The sample included Finnish children who were followed at ages 2, 5, Grade 1 spring (age 7–8) and Grade 2 spring (age 8–9). The sample (N = 402) comprised children who had skill assessment data from Grade 1 (N = 366) or 2 (N = 321), whose parents’ skills were assessed (N = 114 fathers and 153 mothers), and who had HME data available (340 families in Grade 1, 105 families at age 5, and 140 families at age 2). Methods The children's arithmetic fluency and parental mathematical skills were tested using several tasks. HME was assessed via parental questionnaires. The data were analysed using latent interaction models. Results Both mothers' and fathers' skills significantly predicted children's arithmetic skills. Formal and informal HME were found to moderate the effect of parental skills on children's skills. The formal HME factors suggested potential protective effects, whereas the informal HME factors indicated mixed results. Conclusions Lower parental mathematical skills were a significant risk factor for children's arithmetic skills. Teaching activities at home seem to have the potential to alleviate familial risk.

• Viersen, Sietske van; Psyridou, Maria & Torppa, Minna (2025). General introduction to the special issue on resilience in learning. Learning and Instruction. ISSN 0959-4752. 101. doi: 10.1016/j.learninstruc.2025.102254. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  In this introduction to the special issue ‘Resilience in Learning: In Search of Protective Factors and Compensatory Mechanisms’ we provide an overview of the seven articles featured in this special issue and address important themes in this relatively new area of research. These seven articles each have their own foci and form an introduction into the emerging field of academic resilience in the context of education. They cover a theoretical paper, scoping review, several original empirical studies, and an in-depth reflection on the emerging evidence for protective factors and compensatory mechanisms in the context of learning. As this special issue should only be considered as a starting point, we end with suggesting future directions to advance the field.

• Psyridou, Maria; Torppa, Minna; Lervåg, Arne; Poikkeus, Anna-Maija & Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina (2025). Promotive and Protective Effects of Cognitive, Motivational, and Parental Factors on Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension in Grade 9. Scientific Studies of Reading. ISSN 1088-8438. 29(5), p. 470–499. doi: 10.1080/10888438.2025.2544010. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study examined resilience mechanisms influencing Grade 9 reading fluency and reading comprehension skills. Performance in reading fluency and comprehension in Grade 1 (age 7–8 years) was considered a risk factor for Grade 9 (age 15–16 years) reading performance. We focused on the potential promotive and protective effects of cognitive skills, motivational and parental factors, and gender on reading. Promotive factors benefit all individuals regardless of their level of risk, while protective factors generate more benefit for individuals at higher risk compared with those at lower risk. Data from a longitudinal Finnish sample of approximately 2,000 individuals were analyzed. Promotive and protective factors were examined separately for reading fluency and comprehension. Promotive factors were identified as main effects while controlling for Grade 1 performance. Protective factors were identified based on significant interactions with the risk factor, i.e. Grade 1 reading fluency and comprehension skills, and the signaling of gap-closing effects between those at lower and higher risk. Most examined skills and factors were identified as promotive factors for reading fluency and comprehension. Four protective factors emerged for reading fluency: pre-literacy skills, arithmetic fluency, oral language, and homework persistence. Oral language was identified as a protective factor for reading comprehension. Two additional significant interactions emerged for reading fluency: parental teaching of reading and parental support with reading-related homework, but they did not conform to the classic protective factor model. This study advances the application of constructs indicating resilience in reading research and sheds light on factors that provide promotive and protective support for early reading skills development.

• Psyridou, Maria; Tolvanen, Asko; Koponen, Tuire; Aunola, Kaisa; Lerkkanen, Marja-Kristiina & Poikkeus, Anna-Maija [Show all 7 contributors for this article] (2025). Directional Associations in Reading and Arithmetic Fluency Development Across Grades 1 to 9: A Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model. Developmental Psychology. ISSN 0012-1649. 61(6), p. 1196–1209. doi: 10.1037/dev0001944. Full text in Research Archive Show summary

  This study explores the directionality of the associations between silent reading fluency and arithmetic fluency development from Grade 1 through Grade 9 (ages 7 to 16) in a large Finnish sample of 2,518 participants. Participants’ silent reading and arithmetic fluency skills were assessed at seven time points across Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model was employed to distinguish between between-person and within-person associations. The model revealed a strong positive correlation between reading and arithmetic fluency at the between-person level, suggesting that individuals proficient in one domain typically excel in the other as well. At the within-person level, significant developmental associations emerged predominantly during the early acquisition phase (Grades 1–3). Between Grades 1 and 2, we identified positive bidirectional effects between reading and arithmetic fluency, indicating that variations in one skill predict variations in the other at a subsequent time point. From Grades 2 to 3, a positive unidirectional path from reading to arithmetic was identified, suggesting that variations in silent reading fluency predict subsequent variations in arithmetic fluency. After Grade 3, no significant cross-lagged paths were identified. These findings highlight the dynamic interplay between reading and arithmetic fluency at different stages of development and that factors influencing time-specific changes in reading and math are more similar during the early phases of schooling and skill development than in later stages. The early bidirectional relationship suggests that fostering reading skills may support arithmetic development and vice versa, particularly in early grades. This suggests that it may be useful to target both domains in the early interventions with children having problems in reading or math to enhance overall academic performance.

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