The Home Literacy Environment and Children's Development of Linguistic and Socio-Emotional Competencies

• In Event: Home and Family Contributions to Young Children's Development

Abstract

Children’s early linguistic abilities develop in the context of the home learning environment. Research also indicates associations between the Home Literacy Environment (HLE) and children’s socioemotional development. This study investigates the association of different facets of the HLE with children’s early linguistic and socio-emotional competencies.
Our sample consisted of N = 132 children who were assessed three times with an average age of 37 months (SD = 4.0) at t1.
Path analyses supported an indirect effect of the HLE on children’s socio-emotional competencies via linguistic abilities, while controlling for child sex, intelligence, and family SES. Consequently, supporting children’s HLE is not only a beneficial strategy to foster children’s linguistic abilities, but may also support their socioemotional development.

Authors

• Astrid Wirth, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München

• Simone C. Ehmig, German Reading Foundation

• Nadja Drescher, University of Würzburg, Germany

• Sabrina Guffler, University of Würzburg, Germany

• Frank Niklas, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München