Predicting 12-month Infant Vocalization Frequency from 4-month Infant Vocalization Frequency and Maternal Depression

• In Event: Caregiver-child interaction

Abstract

Infants rapidly gain the remarkable ability to perceive and process human speech in their native language (Kuhl et al., 1992). By 12 months infants vocalize extensively and may begin to produce their first words (Bergelson & Swingley, 2012). Four months is a nodal point in infant development, predicting social/cognitive outcomes (Feldman, 2007; Terrace et al., 2022). We aimed to understand the predictors of infant vocalization at 12 months from 4-month interaction. While the literature emphasizes the caregiver’s role in the development of infant linguistic skills (Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015; Weisleder & Fernald, 2013; Bornstein et al., 2020), the infant’s role has also been documented in recent studies. Early infant vocalization frequency is associated with infant expressive language at 12 months (Werwach et al., 2021) and language skills at 2-7 years (Lyasko et al., 2014).
We hypothesized that infant vocalization frequency at 12 months would be predicted by mother and infant 4-month vocal behavior. We also expected that maternal depression would interfere with the development of infant vocalization (Beebe et al., 2008; Brookman et al., 2020; Quevedo et al., 2012) such that mothers with higher 4-month self-report depressive symptoms would have infants with lower 12-month vocalization frequency. Little literature addresses the role of maternal touch in the development of infant language. Because touch is a powerful aspect of social communication (Tanaka et al., 2021; Feldman, 2011), we explored the role of positive and negative maternal 4-month touch patterns in predicting 12-month infant vocalization frequency.
Mother-infant dyads (N=86) were videotaped split-screen in face-to-face play when infants were 4 and 12 months. The first uninterrupted 2.5 minutes of the interaction were coded for infant vocalization frequency (at 4 and 12 months, using ELAN). Transcription of the mothers’ 4-month speech yielded a maternal word count. Mother touch quality was coded second-by-second (mean inter-rater reliability Kappa .832) using an 11-point scale ranging from affectionate to high intensity (Beebe et al., 2010). The two levels at the ends of the scale yielded mean positive and negative touch variables. Self-report of maternal depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies Scale) was collected at 4 months.
In predicting infant 12-month vocalization frequency by regression analysis (Table 1), (a) 4-month infant vocalization frequency was positively associated; (b) 4-month maternal depression was negatively associated; (c) 4-month maternal word count was unrelated; and (d) 4-month maternal positive and negative touch were unrelated.
The findings identified an infant self-organizing process. The infant’s 4-month vocal activity contributes to development of infant vocalization at 12 months, a view under-emphasized in literature. Contrary to expectation, measuring maternal word count, we did not see the mother’s contribution to infant vocalization development at 12 months; nor did we see a contribution of maternal touch quality. However, we did see the negative impact of maternal depression on infant vocalization development at 12 months. Because contingency of interactive process is frequently more informative than behavior frequency, in future work we aim to address maternal 4-month contingent coordination of their words with infant vocalizations as a predictor of infant 12-month vocalization frequency.

Authors

• Gavkhar Abdurokhmonova, University of Maryland - College Park
  Presenting Author

• Amruta Wagh, City University of New York College of Staten Island

• Ran Liu, Columbia University

• Amy Margolis, Columbia University

• Julie Herbstman, Columbia University

• Frances Anne Champagne

• Sang Han Lee

• Beatrice Beebe, New York State Psychiatric Institute