Disentangling genetic and environmental influences on early language development: The interplay of genetic propensity for negative emotionality and surgency,and parenting behavior effects on early language skills in an adoption study

Parenting and children's temperament are important influences on language development. However, temperament may reflect prior parenting, and parenting effects may reflect genes common to parents and children. In 561 U.S. adoptees (57% male) and their birth and rearing parents (70% and 92% White, 13% and 4% African American, and 7% and 2% Latinx, respectively), this study demonstrated how genetic propensity for temperament affects language development, and how this relates to parenting. Genetic propensity for negative emotionality inversely predicted language at 27 months (β = −.15) and evoked greater maternal warmth (β = .12), whereas propensity for surgency positively predicted language at 4.5 years (β = .20), especially when warmth was low. Parental warmth (β = .15) and sensitivity (β = .19) further contributed to language development, controlling for common gene effects.     

Peer Effects on Early Language Development in Dual Language Learners

This study investigated the vocabulary development of children (N = 547) from linguistically and socioeconomically diverse classrooms in Germany from age 3 in preschool to age 7 in Grade 1. The results showed that for dual language learners (DLLs, n = 107) growth rates in their German majority language skills varied over classrooms. Compared to monolingual children, DLLs improved faster in classrooms with higher peer-level skills in the majority language than DLLs in classrooms with lower peer-level skills (controlling for socioeconomic status and classroom quality). DLLs showed stronger growth dynamics than monolingual children during later preschool stages. The findings highlight the role of preschool peers in DLLs’ acquisition of the majority language before entering elementary school.     

Long-Term Relations Between Children’s Language,the Home Literacy Environment,and Socioemotional Development From Ages 3 to 8

Research Findings: This study investigated the long-term interrelations among children’s language competencies, their home literacy environment (HLE), and 3 aspects of socioemotional development from ages 3 to 8, controlling for characteristics of the child and family. For this sample of 547 typically developing German children, parents and teachers reported on cooperative behavior, physical aggression, and emotional self-regulation. Language was assessed using established test instruments. HLE was operationalized by the number of books in the household, the frequency of shared book reading, and an observation during shared book reading. Path analyses supported effects of language and HLE at age 3 on all 3 indicators of socioemotional development over the 5-year period. An additional mediational analysis revealed different patterns of results depending on the aspect of socioemotional competency under study. Although the effect of early language and HLE at age 3 on cooperative and (low) aggressive behavior at age 8 was partially mediated by language at age 5, children’s early language at age 3 was the best predictor of the development of emotional self-regulation. Practice or Policy: Findings identify a rich HLE and proper language skills as protective factors for socioemotional development in not-at-risk children; these factors should be further established in social skills training.     

Relations Among the Home Language and Literacy Environment and Children’s Language Abilities: A Study of Head Start Dual Language Learners and Their Mothers

Research Findings: This study explored the relations between Spanish–English dual language learner (DLL) children’s home language and literacy experiences and their expressive vocabulary and oral comprehension abilities in Spanish and in English. Data from Spanish–English mothers of 93 preschool-age Head Start children who resided in central Pennsylvania were analyzed. Children completed the Picture Vocabulary and Oral Comprehension subtests of the Batería III Woodcock–Muñoz and the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Results revealed that the language spoken by mothers and children and the frequency of mother–child reading at home influenced children’s Spanish language abilities. In addition, the frequency with which children told a story was positively related to children’s performance on English oral language measures. Practice or Policy: The findings suggest that language and literacy experiences at home have a differential impact on DLLs’ language abilities in their 2 languages. Specific components of the home environment that benefit and support DLL children’s language abilities are discussed.     

A mediation meta-analysis of the role of maternal responsivity in the association between socioeconomic risk and children’s language

This meta-analysis tested maternal responsivity as a mediator of the association between socioeconomic risk and children's preschool language abilities. The search included studies up to 2017 and meta-analytic structural equation modeling, allowed us to examine the magnitude of the indirect effect across 17 studies (k = 19). The meta-analysis included 6433 predominantly White, English speaking children (M_age = 36 months; 50% female) from Western, industrialized countries. All paths in the model were statistically significant, notably, the indirect effect was significant (b = −.052), showing that maternal responsivity may be a proximal intervening variable between socioeconomic risk and children's language development. Moderator analyses found that the indirect effect was stronger for sensitive parenting than warmth and when parenting was assessed in the family home.     

Limited English Proficiency and Socioemotional Well-Being Among Asian and Hispanic Children From Immigrant Families

Research Findings: Previous research has suggested that children from immigrant families face multiple stressors associated with acculturation. One component of acculturation that has not been widely explored in relation to children's socioemotional development is limited English proficiency (LEP). Given that English is the main language used in American schools, it is important to understand how LEP can affect the socioemotional development of children from immigrant families whose 1st language is not English. This study explores the effects of LEP on the socioemotional development of 5,268 Hispanic and 2,088 Asian American children from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study data set (first 3 waves of data). Results from generalized estimating equation analyses revealed significant interactions between ethnicity and language status. English-proficient Asian American children fared better than Hispanic children, but Asian American children with LEP lagged behind their Hispanic counterparts in their approaches to learning, self-control, and interpersonal skills at the beginning of kindergarten. These ethnic differences disappeared by the end of 1st grade. Practice or Policy: Our findings suggest that language-related challenges among minority children may be more consequential for young Asian American children, who would benefit from additional efforts to help them attain proficiency in English.     

Bidirectionality in Self‐Regulation and Expressive Vocabulary: Comparisons Between Monolingual and Dual Language Learners in Preschool

Significant differences in language and self‐regulation skills exist among children when they enter formal schooling. Contributing to these language differences is a growing population of dual language learners (DLLs) in the United States. Given evidence linking self‐regulatory processes and language development, this study explored bidirectional associations between English expressive vocabulary and self‐regulation skills for monolingual English and DLL preschool children (N = 250) from mixed‐income families in Los Angeles. Across three time points, findings provide initial support for bidirectionality between these developing skills for both monolinguals and DLLs. Results provide strong empirical support for vocabulary serving as a leading indicator of self‐regulation skills in preschool. Findings also suggest that early self‐regulation skills play a particularly important role for vocabulary development.     

Development of academic language comprehension of German monolinguals and dual language learners

Acquiring academic language proficiency is considered especially challenging for dual language learners (DLLs), yet research on potential differences in the development of academic language skills of DLLs and their monolingual peers is scarce. Based on a repeated-measures design with two starting cohorts, the present study examines the development of academic language comprehension of German monolinguals and DLLs from Grade 2 to 3 and from Grade 3 to 4 (initial N = 560; M_age = 8.87 years, SD_age = .73). When controlling for students’ gender, socioeconomic and educational family background as well as general language skills, German monolinguals showed larger learning gains in academic language comprehension than DLLs from Grade 2 to 3, but not from Grade 3 to 4.     

Paternal Sensitivity and Children’s Cognitive and Socioemotional Outcomes: A Meta-Analytic Review

In a series of meta-analyses, paternal sensitivity was associated with children’s (age range: 7 months–9 years) overall cognitive functioning (N = 3,193; k = 23; r = .19), including language skills (k = 9; r = .21), cognitive ability (k = 9; r = .18), and executive function (k = 8; r = .19). Paternal sensitivity was not associated with children’s overall socioemotional functioning (N = 2,924; k = 24; r = −.03) or internalizing problems, but it was associated with children’s emotion regulation (k = 7; r = .22) and externalizing problems (k = 19; r = −.08). In the broad cognitive functioning, executive function, broad socioemotional functioning, and externalizing problems meta-analyses, child age was a significant moderator.     

Examining the Validity of GOLD® With 4-Year-Old Dual Language Learners

Research Findings: This study builds on prior work related to the assessment of young dual language learners (DLLs). The purposes of the study were to (a) determine whether latent subgroups of preschool DLLs would replicate those found previously and (b) examine the validity of GOLD^® by Teaching Strategies with empirically derived subgroups. Latent class analysis confirmed previous findings of 3 distinct latent subgroups of DLLs (bilingual children, emergent bilingual children, and heritage language speakers). Results of differential item functioning analysis showed that with few exceptions, GOLD items functioned similarly, which indicates that groups matched on ability were similar in their item scores. The item pertaining to using conventional grammar consistently favored non-DLLs over heritage language speakers. The item pertaining to name writing consistently favored DLLs as a single group, emergent bilingual children, and heritage language speakers. Practice or Policy: Study results provide further support for the heterogeneity of DLLs and the use of GOLD with DLL subgroups. This provides the field with an opportunity to better understand this special population of children and enables teachers to plan with greater precision experiences that contribute to their development and learning.     

Exposure to intimate partner violence and internalizing symptoms: The moderating effects of positive relationships with pets and animal cruelty exposure

BackgroundIt is estimated that more than half of children living in households where intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs are also exposed to animal cruelty (AC). Although prior research links bonds with pets with higher levels of socioemotional competence among school-age children, exposure to AC may negate the protective effects of pet ownership and/or exacerbate the potentially deleterious effect of IPV on children’s mental health.ObjectiveThe current study evaluates whether and to what extent the associations between exposure to IPV and several indicators of children’s mental health vary as a function of children’s positive engagement with pets and exposure to AC.Participants and SettingParticipants included 204 children (aged 7–12 years; 47% female; 57% Latinx) and their maternal caregiver who were recruited from domestic violence agencies in a western U.S. state.MethodMultiple moderation analysis evaluated whether the association between children’s exposure to IPV and internalizing and posttraumatic stress symptoms vary as a function of children’s positive engagement with pets and exposure to AC.ResultsAnalyses revealed several moderation effects for positive engagement with pets (e.g., internalizing problems: [b = −.15, t(195) = −2.66, p = .008]; posttraumatic stress symptoms: [b = −.13, t(195) = −2.24, p = .026]), whereas exposure to AC only moderated the association between IPV and anxious/depressed symptoms (b = .32, t(195) = −2.41, p = .017).ConclusionsThese findings highlight the potential protective effects of positive engagement with pets and importance of screening for exposure to AC when engaging in trauma-informed work with children exposed to IPV.     

Early development among dual language learners: The roles of language use at home,maternal immigration,country of origin,and socio-demographic variables

Using nationally representative data from the ECLS-B, we examined children's outcomes and growth from 9 to 65 months as a function of language used in the home at 24 months (English only n = 7300; English and another language n = 1500; other language only n = 400). We also examined whether demographic variables moderated the effects of DLL status in predicting child outcomes. Results revealed substantial variation within the DLL population within and across language groups in immigration status, heritage country, child outcomes, and family socioeconomic risk. DLL status was associated with differential outcomes, gains over time, and processes in complex ways. Maternal birth outside of the U.S., child gender, and parental education moderated relations between home language and child outcomes. Use of the heritage language at home served as a protective factor for children of immigrant families for a few outcomes. Gender and parental education were more strongly associated with child outcomes among English-speaking households than among DLLs.     

Effects of socioeconomic status and language use on academic language proficiency in children with a migration background: An evaluation using quantile regressions

Academic language proficiency (ALP) is supposed to contribute to success across school subjects and to be a hurdle for students, in particular for those from families with a migration background. The present study investigated the effects of language use (i.e., use of the majority and/or a minority language) at home and at free time as well as of families’ socioeconomic status (SES) on ALP. We used quantile regression and OLS regression approaches to examine the joint contributions of these factors for three facets of ALP in German primary school students with a migration background (N = 1,629). Results underline the role of SES across the whole distribution of the three ALP facets, whereas the role of majority language use differed between the three facets. Furthermore, interaction effects between SES and majority language use at home were observed mainly at high quantiles showing that the positive effect of using the majority language at home increases with higher SES particularly in students with higher ALP. The results are discussed in light of theoretical approaches on the role of SES and language use for ALP of students with a migration background.     

Shyness and Socioemotional Functioning in Young Chinese Children: The Moderating Role of Receptive Vocabulary

The goal of this study was to explore links among shyness, receptive vocabulary, and indices of socioemotional functioning in a sample of young children in mainland urban China. In particular, we sought to examine the potential moderating role of receptive language in these relations. Participants were N = 360 young children (200 boys, 160 girls, M_age = 4.72 years, SD = 0.63) attending preschool/kindergartens in Shanghai, People’s Republic of China. Multisource assessments were employed, including maternal ratings (child shyness), standardized tests (receptive vocabulary), child self-reports collected during individual interviews (loneliness), teacher ratings (child internalizing problems), and peer nominations (peer liking). Results indicated that receptive vocabulary moderated (buffering effect) the relations between shyness and several indices of socioemotional functioning. Results are discussed in terms of the implications of language skills for early school adjustment of young shy Chinese children.     

Beating the Odds: A Longitudinal Investigation of Low-Income Dual-Language and Monolingual Children's English Language and Literacy Performance

Research Findings: The current study reports on the results of a longitudinal investigation of the language and early literacy development of a sample of dual-language learners (DLLs) and monolingual English speakers from low-income families who received an Early Reading First intervention during their Head Start preschool year. A total of 62 children who entered and remained in the same school district were followed from kindergarten through 2nd grade. The results indicate that both the DLLs and monolingual English speakers in the study showed similar developmental trajectories on receptive vocabulary, story recall, decoding, and letter and word identification from preschool through the 2nd grade. Furthermore, at the end of 2nd grade, the 2 groups' vocabulary, story recall, reading fluency, decoding, and letter and word identification performances were similar and within the normal range for children their age. Practice or Policy: The study's findings suggest that a strong preschool language and literacy program can reduce the English language gap between DLLs and monolingual English speakers from low-income families.     

Are young dual language learners homogeneous? Identifying subgroups using latent class analysis

Although dual language learners (DLLs) are linguistically, culturally, and socially diverse, researchers usually study them in aggregate and compare them to non-DLLs. The authors' purpose was to identify subgroups of preschool DLLs using latent class analysis. There were 7,361 DLLs and 69,457 non-DLLs. Results revealed three distinct classes. Children in class 1 (emergent bilingual children) tended to speak mostly their native language but some English at home and in the classroom. Children in class 2 (bilingual children) tended to speak English only in the classroom, but spoke both languages at home. Children in class 3 (heritage language speakers) tended to speak only their native language at home and in the classroom. Different demographic profiles and levels of development and learning were observed across classes. The DLL subgroups and their profiles provide important information about how educational programs may be tailored to meet the diverse needs of young DLLs.