Parent-Infant book Reading and Later Language Development

• In Event: 3-142 - Children´s Language Ability: The Role of Type, Quantity, and Quality Of Parents’ Language Input.

Integrative Statement

Early onset of parent-child book reading is an important predictor of later language development (Debaryshe, 1993; Karrass & Baumgart-Rieker, 2005; Payne, Whitehurst & Angell, 1994), which in turn affects reading and academic success (NICHD, 2005; Walker, Greenwood, Hart & Carta, 1994). One possible mechanism through which early book reading influences language development is the quality of the parent-child interaction in this context, yet there is limited research on the nature of parent-infant book reading interactions. Thus, the goal of this study was to examine which specific features of parent-infant book reading interactions predict later language development in a population of parents and their 10-month-old typically developing infants from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds.
Forty-four mother-infant dyads participated in a longitudinal observational study that spanned the period from child age 10-months to 18-months. At child age 10-months, mother-child dyads were videotaped at home during a book reading and toy play session. Other data collected on this visit included a parent report of children’s vocabulary comprehension skills (using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory, MCDI; Fenson et al., 1994). At child age 18-months, dyads were again visited and videotaped during book reading and toy play interaction. Children’s language skills were again measured using the MCDI as well as the Language Use Inventory (LUI; O’Neill, 2009), and the Expressive Language Scale of the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL; Mullen, 1995).
Videotapes of book-reading sessions were transcribed for all speech and gesture produced using the CHAT conventions of the Child Language Data Exchange System (CHILDES, MacWhinney, 2000). Automated analyses using the CLAN program provided data on mothers’: amount of talk (word tokens), diversity of vocabulary (word types), mean length of utterance (MLU), number of questions posed, number of pointing gestures (pointing tokens), and diversity of objects pointed to (pointing types). Additional coding of the data was conducted to quantify the content of maternal utterances (Concrete, e.g., labelling and describing; Extending, e.g., linking the story to the child’s life; or Other). Finally, children’s interest during book reading was coded using a valid and reliable interval-rating scheme (e.g., Malin, Cabrera & Rowe, 2014).
Separate linear regression models were run to determine which qualities of the mother-child book reading interaction at 10-months related to children’s later language skills, controlling for parent education and children’s earlier language scores (see Table 1). Mothers’ questions significantly predicted all child language measures at 18-months. Extending talk significantly predicted children’s word types at 18-months. None of the other maternal speech/gesture qualities predicted children’s later language skills. In addition, children’s interest during book reading significantly predicted children’s scores on the LUI and the MSEL, and children’s word types at 18-months. When mothers’ use of questions was entered with children’s interest into the same models with controls, questions remained a significant predictor of the LUI, the MSEL, and children’s word types, but children’s interest no longer predicted the MSEL or children’s word types (see Table 2). Thus, children’s interest during book reading may encourage mothers to ask more questions, which promotes language learning.

Authors

• Amber Muhinyi, University of Manchester
  Presenting Author

• Meredith Rowe, Harvard University
  Non-Presenting Author