The Longitudinal Relationship Between Conversational Turn-Taking and Vocabulary Growth in Early Language Development

Children acquire language embedded within the rich social context of interaction. This paper reports on a longitudinal study investigating the developmental relationship between conversational turn-taking and vocabulary growth in English-acquiring children (N = 122) followed between 9 and 24 months. Daylong audio recordings obtained every 3 months provided several indices of the language environment, including the number of adult words children heard in their environment and their number of conversational turns. Vocabulary was measured independently via parental report. Growth curve analyses revealed a bidirectional relationship between conversational turns and vocabulary growth, controlling for the amount of words in children’s environments. The results are consistent with theoretical approaches that identify social interaction as a core component of early language acquisition.     

Developmental Trajectories in Children With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorders: The First 3 Years

Retrospective studies indicate 2 major classes of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) onset: early and later, after a period of relatively healthy development. This prospective, longitudinal study examined social, language, and motor trajectories in 235 children with and without a sibling with autism, ages 6–36 months. Children were grouped as: ASD identified by 14 months, ASD identified after 14 months, and no ASD. Despite groups' initial similar developmental level at 6 months, ASD groups exhibited atypical trajectories thereafter. Impairment from 14 to 24 months was greater in the Early‐ASD than the Later‐ASD group, but comparable at 36 months. Developmental plateau and regression occurred in some children with ASD, regardless of timing of ASD diagnosis. Findings indicate a preclinical phase of varying duration for ASD.     

Stability of Core Language Skill from Early Childhood to Adolescence: A Latent Variable Approach

This four‐wave prospective longitudinal study evaluated stability of language in 324 children from early childhood to adolescence. Structural equation modeling supported loadings of multiple age‐appropriate multisource measures of child language on single‐factor core language skills at 20 months and 4, 10, and 14 years. Large stability coefficients (standardized indirect effect = .46) were obtained between language latent variables from early childhood to adolescence even when accounting for child nonverbal intelligence and social competence and maternal verbal intelligence, education, speech, and social desirability. Stability coefficients were similar for girls and boys. Stability of core language skill was stronger from 4 to 10 to 14 years than from 20 months to 4 years, so early intervention to improve lagging language is recommended.     

Dysregulated Fear,Social Inhibition,and Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia: A Replication and Extension

Behavioral inhibition indicates increased risk for development of social anxiety. Recent work has identified a pattern of dysregulated fear (DF), characterized by high fear in low‐threat situations, that provides a more precise marker of developmental risk through early childhood. This study tested a new longitudinal sample of children (n = 124) from ages 24 to 48 months. Replicating prior findings, at 24 months, we identified a pattern of fearful behavior across contexts marked by higher fear to putatively low‐threat situations. DF was associated with higher parental report of social inhibition at 24, 36, and 48 months. Extending prior findings, we observed differences in cardiac physiology during fear‐eliciting situations, suggesting that the neurobiological underpinnings of DF relate to difficulty with regulation.     

Trajectories of Violent Behavior Among Females and Males

Both the psychological and criminological fields have long hypothesized the mechanisms that influence desistance from violent offending, but few studies have focused on violent females. This study identifies patterns of violent behavior across 7 years among 172 females and 172 matched males ages 15–24, testing if heterogeneity in violent offending is linked to (a) developmental change in impulse control and (b) attainment of adult milestones. Fewer females persist in violence (25%) than males (46%); 19% of males increase in violent behavior. Females who develop impulse control and are employed are more likely to desist from violence. Violent offending is unrelated to other adult milestones. Developmental increases in impulse control may trigger desistance, while employment may maintain desistance from violence.     

The Impact of Early Social Interactions on Later Language Development in Spanish–English Bilingual Infants

This study tested the impact of child‐directed language input on language development in Spanish–English bilingual infants (N = 25, 11‐ and 14‐month‐olds from the Seattle metropolitan area), across languages and independently for each language, controlling for socioeconomic status. Language input was characterized by social interaction variables, defined in terms of speech style (“parentese” vs. standard speech) and social context (one‐on‐one vs. group). Correlations between parentese one‐on‐one and productive vocabulary at 24 months (n = 18) were found across languages and in each language independently. Differences are highlighted between previously published monolingual samples, which used the same methods as the current study of bilingual infants. The results also suggest cultural effects on language input and language development in bilingual and bicultural infants.     

Child and Parenting Outcomes After 1 Year of Educare

Educare is a birth to age 5 early education program designed to reduce the achievement gap between children from low‐income families and their more economically advantaged peers through high‐quality center‐based programming and strong school–family partnerships. This study randomly assigned 239 children (< 19 months) from low‐income families to Educare or a business‐as‐usual control group. Assessments tracked children 1 year after randomization. Results revealed significant differences favoring treatment group children on auditory and expressive language skills, parent‐reported problem behaviors, and positive parent–child interactions. Effect sizes were in the modest to medium range. No effects were evident for observer‐rated child behaviors or parent‐rated social competence. The overall results add to the evidence that intervening early can set low‐income children on more positive developmental courses.     

Behaviour and adjustment problems of young developmentally delayed children

ABSTRACT

As part of an ongoing longitudinal study of developmental delay (DD), 35 six‐year‐old children with delays of unknown aetiology were assessed with measures of cognitive, language and educational competence. Their parents provided detailed information about their self‐help and personal‐social competencies, behaviour problems and temperament. As a group, the DD children evidenced high rates of behaviour problems, but there was considerable within‐group variability in intensity and pattern of problems. Low relationships were found between the intensity of behaviour problems and children's chronological age (CA), IQ, language level and self‐help competencies. The child variable most strongly associated with behaviour problems was temperament, or behavioural style.     

Look At That! Video Chat and Joint Visual Attention Development Among Babies and Toddlers

Although many relatives use video chat to keep in touch with toddlers, key features of adult–toddler interaction like joint visual attention (JVA) may be compromised in this context. In this study, 25 families with a child between 6 and 24 months were observed using video chat at home with geographically separated grandparents. We define two types of screen‐mediated JVA (across‐ and within‐screen) and report age‐related increases in the babies’ across‐screen JVA initiations, and that family JVA usage was positively related to babies’ overall attention during video calls. Babies today are immersed in a digital world where formative relationships are often mediated by a screen. Implications for both infant social development and developmental research are discussed.     

Temperamental task orientation: Relation to high school and college educational accomplishments

To evaluate the role of temperamental task orientation in adolescents' academic success, we examined its relation to educational accomplishments in high school and college using longitudinal data. Participants (N = 110) were assessed at 15, 16, and 17 years of age with a follow-up at 24 years. Adolescent self-report and parent reports of task orientation at 16 were used to predict high school and college GPA, SAT scores, perseverance in college, and degree attainment. Task orientation related to high school GPA and accounted for variance above and beyond SES and IQ in predicting high school and college GPA. An interaction emerged between IQ and task orientation: increasing levels of task orientation were associated with higher GPA for students with higher intelligence, but not for those with relatively lower intelligence. These findings highlight the contribution of non-intellective factors to academic achievement in secondary and post-secondary education.     

English expressive vocabulary growth and its unique role in predicting English word reading: A longitudinal study involving Hong Kong Chinese ESL children

This longitudinal study examined the developmental trajectory of English expressive vocabulary and its relationship to English word reading in a sample of 141 Hong Kong children learning English as a second language (ESL). The children were observed six times at 3-month intervals over 15 months, from the spring of their second year of kindergarten (K2) to the end of their third year (K3). The development of English expressive vocabulary was nonlinear during the assessment period. With age, nonverbal IQ, English phonological awareness, letter knowledge and Chinese character reading controlled, the initial level of expressive vocabulary predicted English word reading 15 months later. More importantly, the expressive vocabulary growth rate during the 15 months also predicted English word reading. Our findings underscore the predictive power of the growth trajectory of expressive vocabulary in Hong Kong ESL children. Practical implications of the study are discussed.     

Social Networks of Children With Developmental Language Disorder in Inclusive Preschool Programs

This study takes an ecological approach to examine how children with developmental language disorder (DLD) interact with their classmates within early childhood special education (ECSE) inclusive classrooms. Participants were 124 children with DLD, 56 children with other disabilities, and 247 typically developing children (M_age = 52.42 months, SD = 6.27) from 56 ECSE inclusive classrooms. Results of social network analysis showed that children with DLD had significantly smaller peer social networks and were more likely to be isolated. Children tended to interact with peers with the same DLD status. These effects of children's DLD status were above and beyond the effects of children's social pragmatics skills.     

Developmental Pathways to Preference and Popularity in Middle Childhood

This study examined the associations between children's early life experiences with parents, ego resiliency and ego undercontrol, and peer group social status in a longitudinal, multimethod study from infancy to middle childhood. Participants were 129 children (52% boys) who were followed from 15 months of age to 9 years and their primary caregivers from the Nijmegen Longitudinal Study on Infant and Child Development. The measurements included observations of parent–child interaction, teacher ratings of ego resiliency and ego undercontrol, and peer‐reported social status. Quality of parental interactive behavior was associated with ego resiliency and ego undercontrol. Ego resiliency and ego undercontrol were uniquely related to preference and popularity. The findings provide insight into the developmental pathways leading to the two distinct types of social status.     

Beyond Stimulus Deprivation: Iron Deficiency and Cognitive Deficits in Postinstitutionalized Children

Children adopted from institutions have been studied as models of the impact of stimulus deprivation on cognitive development (Nelson, Bos, Gunnar, & Sonuga‐Barke, 2011), but these children may also suffer from micronutrient deficiencies (Fuglestad et al., 2008). The contributions of iron deficiency (ID) and duration of deprivation on cognitive functioning in children adopted from institutions between 17 and 36 months of age were examined. ID was assessed in 55 children soon after adoption, and cognitive functioning was evaluated 11–14.6 months postadoption when the children averaged 37.4 months old (SD = 4.9). ID at adoption and longer duration of institutional care independently predicted lower IQ scores and executive function (EF) performance. IQ did not mediate the association between ID and EF.     

Skype Me! Socially Contingent Interactions Help Toddlers Learn Language

Language learning takes place in the context of social interactions, yet the mechanisms that render social interactions useful for learning language remain unclear. This study focuses on whether social contingency might support word learning. Toddlers aged 24–30 months (N = 36) were exposed to novel verbs in one of three conditions: live interaction training, socially contingent video training over video chat, and noncontingent video training (yoked video). Results suggest that children only learned novel verbs in socially contingent interactions (live interactions and video chat). This study highlights the importance of social contingency in interactions for language learning and informs the literature on learning through screen media as the first study to examine word learning through video chat technology.     

Declining Gaze to Faces in Infants Developing Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence From Two Independent Cohorts

Two independent cohorts (N = 155, N = 126) of infants at high and low risk for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were followed prospectively between 6 and 36 months of age, when n = 46 were diagnosed with ASD. Gaze to adult faces was coded—during a developmental assessment (Cohort 1) or a play interaction (Cohort 2). Across both cohorts, most children developing ASD showed sharp declines in gaze to faces over time, relative to children without ASD. These findings suggest that declining developmental trajectories may be more common than previously recognized by retrospective methods. Trajectory-based screening methods could potentially identify children in the early stages of symptom onset and allow for early intervention before the full disorder has developed.     

A culture of assessment: A bioecological systems approach for early and continuous assessment of deaf infants and children

Even today, with all of the hearing technology and bilingual programs available, many Deaf children arrive at school with severe language delays. With a renewed focus on having Deaf children kindergarten-ready, assessment of language milestones becomes critical as seen in the campaign Child First and the legislation referred to as Language Equality & Acquisition for Deaf Kids (LEAD-K). Here, a strategy is proposed to ensure that Deaf children are kindergarten-ready. The focus is on a re-evaluation of the epistemologies of the social and individualized medical models of health, as well as Bronfenbrenner's bioecological systems approach, to assess all components that impact a Deaf child's ecology to permit maximizing their developmental potentials.     

A Developmental Hierarchical-Integrative Perspective on the Emergence of Self-Regulation: A Replication and Extension

This study replicated and extended the Feldman (2009) study by applying the developmental hierarchical-integrative model to understand the emergence of self-regulation. Participants included 360 children (48.6% boys; 62.8% identified as Caucasian and 36.9% African American) and their families, predominantly from a low-income, rural background. Families completed assessments on child physiological, attention, emotion, and self-regulation when children were 6-, 15-, 24-, and 36-month-old, when caregiver sensitivity was observationally assessed. A path model revealed that child attention regulation at 6 months predicted physiological regulation at 15 months, and child attention regulation at 15 months predicted emotion regulation at 24 months. Attention regulation at 24 months predicted better self-regulation at 36 months. Notably, caregiver sensitivity moderated several developmental pathways. Findings support a continuous model of early self-regulation development and the ongoing individual-environment interplay in early childhood.     

English Language Proficiency and Early School Attainment Among Children Learning English as an Additional Language

Children learning English as an additional language (EAL) often experience lower academic attainment than monolingual peers. In this study, teachers provided ratings of English language proficiency and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning for 782 children with EAL and 6,485 monolingual children in reception year (ages 4–5). Academic attainment was assessed in reception and Year 2 (ages 6–7). Relative to monolingual peers with comparable English language proficiency, children with EAL displayed fewer social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties in reception, were equally likely to meet curriculum targets in reception, and were more likely to meet targets in Year 2. Academic attainment and social, emotional, and behavioral functioning in children with EAL are associated with English language proficiency at school entry.     

The Developmental Sequence and Relations Between Gesture and Spoken Language in Toddlers With Autism Spectrum Disorder

In typical development, gestures precede and predict language development. This study examines the developmental sequence of expressive communication and relations between specific gestural and language milestones in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), who demonstrate marked difficulty with gesture production and language. Communication skills across five stages (gestures, word approximations, first words, gesture-word combinations, and two-word combinations) were assessed monthly by blind raters for toddlers with ASD participating in an randomized control trial of parent-mediated treatment (N = 42, 12–30 months). Findings revealed that toddlers acquired skills following a reliable (vs. idiosyncratic) sequence and the majority of toddlers combined gestures with words before combining words in speech, but in contrast to the pattern observed in typical development, a significant subset acquired pointing after first words.