Exploring Bedtime Reading as a Mediator Between Maternal Depression and Preschoolers’ Receptive Vocabulary

• In Event: AERA Research in Progress Roundtable Session Four
  In Invited Roundtable: Research-in-Progress RT017 (Saturday)

Abstract

Across early childhood, maternal depression (MD) may influence children’s language outcomes. As vocabulary may be best consolidated during to sleep, it is crucial to examine if mother-child shared bedtime reading (SBR) at toddlerhood mediates the relationship between MD (at toddlerhood) and receptive vocabulary outcomes by preschool, and if maternal education or child gender moderates the relationships. The mediation analysis revealed marginally significant findings for MD to SBR with significant maternal education controls and SBR to receptive vocabulary with significant total effects. The moderated mediation analyses held significant moderation for SBR and bachelor’s degree to receptive vocabulary, significant direct effects for graduate degree levels, MD and female gender to receptive vocabulary scores, and significant direct effects for the male gender.

Author

• Nicole Kingdon, Boston University