Dimensional structure of reading and cognitive abilities in school-age children (PRIN 2022 Project Tails or Types?)

This dataset contains behavioral measures of reading performance and associated cognitive abilities collected in a sample of school-age children and adolescents within the PRIN 2022 project “Tails or Types? Testing the dimensional framework of neurodevelopmental disorders” (CUP: C53D23004210006). The dataset was designed to investigate the dimensional structure of reading ability and its cognitive correlates in the general population, with a specific focus on the relationship between reading performance and multiple cognitive domains traditionally associated with developmental dyslexia. These include rapid automatized naming, verbal working memory, visual attention, motion perception, processing speed, and fluid reasoning. Data were collected using standardized or widely used experimental tasks, including word and non-word reading measures (DDE-2 battery), rapid naming tasks, digit span, visual search tasks, coherent dot motion paradigms, and a fluid intelligence test (Cattell). In addition, a chronotype questionnaire (MESC) was administered to assess potential circadian influences on performance. The dataset includes multiple indicators for each domain (e.g., parallel subtests and aggregated scores), allowing detailed multivariate analyses of covariance structure. The primary intended use is the estimation of the joint distribution of reading and cognitive abilities in a population-based sample, in order to evaluate whether profiles typically associated with reading difficulties can be interpreted as extreme configurations within a continuous multivariate space. The dataset is accompanied by a data dictionary describing all variables and their structure, as well as licensing information to facilitate reuse. No personally identifiable information is included.