Read the excerpt:

For many years parents were warned that raising a child with two languages would confuse the child and slow down learning. More recent research has not supported this fear. Bilingual children may know fewer words in each language at first, but their total vocabulary across both languages is usually similar to that of children who speak one language. Some studies also suggest that switching between languages trains the brain to focus attention and ignore distractions.

As used in the excerpt, the word "supported" in "has not supported this fear" most nearly means