Exploring the complex relations between SES and parental mental-state language in a socioeconomically diverse sample

• In Event: Examining the nature of children's linguistic environments: evidence from socioeconomically and ethnically diverse families

Abstract

For several decades, there has been considerable interest in the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and the language used during parent-child interactions. Here we focused on mental-state language – references to psychological states like thoughts and feelings – which relates to many aspects of children's social cognition. Evidence regarding the relationship between SES and mental-state language is limited and mixed, with findings ranging from no relationship (Ebert et al., 2017), a positive correlation between SES and mental-state language (Degotardi & Torr, 2007), and an emphasis on mental-state talk in low-SES homes (Miller et al. 2005).

Roby and Scott (2022) recently suggested a potential explanation for these mixed findings: the language used during parent-child interactions depends in part on the socialization goals parents adopt in a given setting, and thus the relationship between SES and mental-state language will depend on a variety of factors that could influence such goals. Consistent with this possibility, they found that the relationship between parental education (one dimension of SES) and the mental-state language used by parents and their 3-year-old children varied as a function of interaction context (picture-book reading vs. free play), the type of mental-state language examined (e.g., cognition, emotion, or desire terms), and the family’s ethnic background.

The present study sought to replicate Roby and Scott’s findings and extend them to a novel interaction context, co-constructing a complex model, which has previously revealed SES differences in parent talk (e.g., Thompson et al., 2016). We also examined whether the relationship between SES and mental-state language varied across different dimensions of SES (e.g., education, income).

Participants were 82 parent-child dyads (M child age = 4.6 years) from a diverse range of socioeconomic backgrounds. Dyads completed two interaction tasks. In the picture-book task (Roby & Scott, 2022), they viewed a wordless picture-book that contained images intended to elicit discussion of mental states. In the model-building task (Thompson et al., 2016), dyads were shown a toy marble run and instructed to recreate the model using their own blocks. In both tasks, dyads were left alone for 10 minutes to complete the activity. Interactions were transcribed and coded for the number of cognition, emotion, and desire terms produced. Analyses controlled for the number of parent words in each task.

Preliminary results indicate that the relationship between SES and mental-state language differed across types of mental-state terms, task, and dimensions of SES. Similar to Roby and Scott (2022), higher-educated parents produced more cognition talk than lower-educated parents, X2(1) = 13.82, p < .001, but this difference was larger in the picture-book task than the model-building task, X2(1) = 11.08, p < .001. In contrast, lower-income parents produced more desire language than higher-income parents, X2(1) = 5.24, p = .022, and this difference was larger in the picture-book task, X2(1) = 5.31, p = .021. Finally, there were no significant effects of either parent education or income on emotion talk.

These findings replicate and extend Roby and Scott (2022), providing additional evidence for a complex, nuanced relationship between SES and mental-state language.

Authors

• Erin Roby, NYU Grossman School of Medicine
  Presenting Author

• James Z Sullivan, University of California - Merced

• Maritza Miramontes, University of California - Davis

• Emily Kendrick

• Rose M Scott, University of California - Merced