Contribution of distress tolerance and working memory to reading comprehension in 9 to 12-year-old children

Reading development is a cumulative process in which children progressively become more efficient and begin to deal with longer and more complex texts. Knowing the cognitive and affective factors that affect reading com- prehension performance is of great relevance. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the explanatory capacity of distress tolerance in reading comprehension of narrative and expository texts, jointly considering the role of working memory in 9 to 12 -year -old children. A total of 211 children who were in the fourth to sixth year of primary education were evaluated (117 girls, 94 boys; M age = 10.94, SD = 0.87 years). A non -experimental, cross-section- al, correlational design was used. Distress tolerance was assessed using the Behavioral Indicator of Resilience to Distress, working memory with a complex digit span task, while CL of narrative and expository text with an age -appropriate screening test. The results show that, when considered jointly, working memory contributes to reading comprehension performance of both narrative and expository texts, while distress tolerance does not make a significant contribution. The study contributes to the knowledge of factors that contribute to reading comprehension performance in school-age children, showing that the ability to tolerate negative emotional states does not contribute significantly to comprehension of different types of text when the ability to simultaneously maintain and process information is considered.