Home Literacy Environment and Language and Literacy Outcomes: Direct and Mediating Pathways of Parent-Child Interactions

• In Event: Poster Session 07
  In Poster Session: PS 07 Topic - Language, Communication

Abstract

The home literacy environment, defined as children’s literacy-related experiences and exposure at home, provides children with the linguistic experience and language exposure for early language and literacy development (Hamilton et al., 2016; Hoff, 2013). However, the dominant focus on quantifying the number of words that children are exposed to can overshadow the role that nuanced parent-child interactions play to support children’s early language and literacy development (Logan et al., 2019; Rowe & Zuckerman, 2016). The present study asked whether parent-child interactions would mediate the association between shared literacy activities measured when children were 10.52 months old and children’s emergent literacy skills and oral language skills at preschool.

Data came from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) that contained approximately 10,690 children (51.1% male; 41.5% white; 78.6% two-parent households) and their mothers (99% birth mothers; mean age in years at Time 1 = 28.5, SD = 6.55; 45.9% white; 65.6% married; 80.8% with a high school education and above) with the average family income of $30,001 to $35,000.

Data were collected from mothers’ questionnaires, child direct assessments, and home observations. Parent and child behaviors during parent-child interactions were assessed and coded. Six parent behaviors coded were sensitivity, intrusiveness, stimulation of cognitive development, positive regard, negative regard, and detachment. Three child behaviors coded were engagement, sustained attention, and negativity toward parents.

Results of the longitudinal path analysis with mediators showed that shared literacy activities when children were 10.52 months old had positive direct effects on preschool oral language skills and emergent literacy skills. For the emergent literacy skills model, parents’ positive regard of their children (β = .003, p < .05), children’s engagement (β = .002, p < .05), and children’s sustained attention (β = .002, p < .05) were significant mediators. For the oral language skills model, parents’ positive regard of their children (β = .004, p < .01) and children’s engagement (β = .005, p < .01) were significant mediators. These findings suggested that, when the direct effects and indirect effects were jointly considered, parents’ positive regard of their children, children’s engagement, and children’s sustained attention partially mediated the association between shared literacy activities and preschool emergent literacy skills. Additionally, only parents’ positive regard of their children partially mediated the association between shared literacy activities and preschool oral language skills.

Results from the present study imply that parents who engage in shared literacy activities with their children should be encouraged to foster parents’ positive regard of their children, children’s engagement, and children’s sustained attention as a means of promoting children’s emergent literacy skills. Additionally, results of the present study underscore parents’ positive regard, children’s engagement, and children’s sustained attention as potential mechanisms for emergent literacy skills in the first year. Various aspects of parent-child interactions emerged as critical mediators of the potential influence of shared literacy activities, which has potential contributions for parents interested in creating quality shared literacy activities.

Author

• Christine Meng, Edgewood College
  Presenting Author