Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Pediatrics. 2014 Feb;133(2):e394-401. doi: 10.1542/peds.2012-2874. Epub 2014 Jan 27.
The aim of the current study was to examine the relationship between sibship size and children's vocabulary as a function of quality of sibling interactions. It was hypothesized that coming from a larger sibship (ie, 3+ children) would be related to lower receptive vocabulary in children. However, we expected this association to be moderated by the level of cognitive sensitivity shown by children's next-in-age older siblings.
Data on 385 children (mean age = 3.15 years) and their next-in-age older siblings (mean age = 5.57 years) were collected and included demographic questionnaires, direct testing of children's receptive vocabulary, and videos of mother-child and sibling interactions. Sibling dyads were taped engaging in a cooperative building task and tapes were coded for the amount of cognitive sensitivity the older sibling exhibited toward the younger sibling.
Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted and showed an interaction between sibship size and sibling cognitive sensitivity in the prediction of children's receptive vocabulary; children exposed to large sibships whose next-in-age older sibling exhibited higher levels of cognitive sensitivity were less likely to show low vocabulary skills when compared with those children exposed to large sibships whose siblings showed lower levels of cognitive sensitivity.
Children who show sensitivity to the cognitive needs of their younger siblings provide a rich environment for language development. The negative impact of large sibships on language development is moderated by the presence of an older sibling who shows high cognitive sensitivity.
本研究旨在考察兄弟姐妹数量与儿童词汇量之间的关系，以及兄弟姐妹互动质量的作用。研究假设来自较大兄弟姐妹（即 3 个或以上的孩子）的家庭的儿童的接受性词汇量较低。然而，我们预计这种关联会受到儿童年龄稍大的兄弟姐妹表现出的认知敏感性水平的调节。
收集了 385 名儿童（平均年龄=3.15 岁）及其年龄稍大的兄弟姐妹（平均年龄=5.57 岁）的数据，包括人口统计学问卷、儿童接受性词汇量的直接测试以及母子和兄弟姐妹互动的视频。兄弟姐妹二人参与合作搭建任务，录制视频并对年龄较大的兄弟姐妹对年龄较小的兄弟姐妹表现出的认知敏感性进行编码。
进行了层次回归分析，结果表明兄弟姐妹数量与兄弟姐妹认知敏感性在儿童接受性词汇量的预测中存在交互作用；与兄弟姐妹认知敏感性较低的儿童相比，来自兄弟姐妹较多的家庭的儿童，如果他们的年龄稍大的兄弟姐妹表现出更高水平的认知敏感性，那么他们不太可能表现出词汇量较低的情况。
对弟弟妹妹的认知需求表现出敏感性的儿童为语言发展提供了丰富的环境。年龄稍大的兄弟姐妹表现出较高的认知敏感性，会调节大家庭对语言发展的负面影响。
