Variation in Caregiver Responsivity and its Relation to Latino DLLs’ Language Skills

• In Event: Poster Session 05
  In Poster Session: PS 05 Topic - Language, Communication

Abstract

Introduction. Individual differences in early language skills have lifelong consequences for children’s academic well-being. Efforts to reduce academic inequities emphasize access to high-quality language experiences (Rowe, 2013; Hoff, 2003). Thus, the rich language experience of being exposed to two languages should constitute a strength for the large population of Latino dual language learners (DLLs; American Community Survey, 2019). Yet, a continued reliance on research using across-group comparisons espouses a deficit perspective on learners from low-income backgrounds, including DLLs. This perspective assumes that children’s underperformance, on language-related measures, is due to low language stimulation within low-income homes (Hart & Risley, 1995). The purpose of this study is thus to describe the heterogeneity in DLLs’ language experiences and examine the caregiver-child language interactions associated with positive dual language skills.
Hypotheses. Social-cultural (Vygotsky, 1986) and attachment theories (Bowlby, 1969), together, conceptualize the key role that caregiver responsiveness, marked by warmth and sensitivity, plays in development. That is, responsivity to child vocalizations from more knowledgeable caregivers helps to expand children’s language skills. Thus, our hypotheses are that: 1) there is variation in caregivers’ responsiveness/emotional supportiveness and DLLs’ language skills; 2) caregivers’ responsiveness, marked by warmth and sensitivity, will promote children’s dual language skills.
Study Population. Participants include 47 Latino families (larger study n = 60) with 18-month-old DLLs (Spanish-dominant = 26; English-dominant = 11; Balanced = 10). Language dominance was gleaned from parental home language surveys set on a 5-point scale (5 = ”only English” to 1 = “only Spanish”). Income ranged from less-than-$15,000 to $100,000-or-more.
Methods. Transcripts (CHILDES; MacWhinney, 2010) of video-recorded caregiver-child interactions during 10-minute play sessions (Three Bags Task with books and toys) generated caregivers’ responsiveness as the number of word types (Dale-Chall, 1995); high values indicate greater word diversity and thus, greater caregiver responsiveness. Coding of emotional supportiveness is underway (Brady-Smith et al., 1999). Every six months (18- to 36-months), caregivers completed the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Inventories (MCDIs) Words and Gestures form; child language scores included the number of “words understood” in English (out of 396) and Spanish (428).
Results. Results revealed wide variability in caregivers’ responsiveness (Figure 1) and children’s language skills (English range = 0-396; Spanish range = 0-426). Separate multiple regression analyses (Table 1) revealed that after controlling for income, caregiver types in Spanish and English were positively related to the number of words children understood in Spanish and English, respectively (p’s<0.05). Follow-up analyses will examine caregiver types as a function of emotional supportiveness. These within-group analyses, revealing wide variability and a relation between caregiver responsiveness and DLLs’ language skills, suggest a more nuanced understanding of language experiences in low-income homes.

Authors

• Maily Galindo, Loyola University Chicago
  Presenting Author

• Perla Blanca Gamez, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• Jordan Sierra Perry, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author

• Holly Griskell, Concordia University Wisconsin
  Non-Presenting Author

• Celeste Martinez, Loyola University Chicago
  Non-Presenting Author