Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA.
Department of Psychology, Rutgers University-Camden, NJ.
J Speech Lang Hear Res. 2021 Jun 4;64(6):1992-2004. doi: 10.1044/2021_JSLHR-20-00412. Epub 2021 May 20.
Purpose Understanding variability sources in early language interaction is critical to identifying children whose development is at risk and designing interventions. Variability across socioeconomic status (SES) groups has been extensively explored. However, SES is a limited individual clinical indicator. For example, it is not generally directly modifiable. The purpose of this study was to examine if child language ability, input quantity and quality, and dyadic interaction were associated with modifiable caregiver characteristics-self-efficacy and developmental knowledge. Method We conducted secondary analyses using the baseline data ( = 41 dyads enrolled, = 30 analyzed) from a longitudinal study. Mothers and children (1;0-2;3 [years;months]) in low-income households completed demographic questionnaires, self-efficacy and developmental knowledge measures, child language assessments, and interaction samples. We used linear regression models to examine the relationship between self-efficacy, developmental knowledge, and outcomes. Results Child receptive and expressive language scores were significantly associated with mothers' self-efficacy, knowledge, and Efficacy × Knowledge interaction. Specifically, maternal self-efficacy was positively associated with child language only in the context of high developmental knowledge. Neither self-efficacy nor developmental knowledge was significantly associated with the number of total or different words mothers produced. However, self-efficacy was significantly and positively associated with the rate of child-initiated conversational turns per minute, controlling for the number of child utterances. Mothers with higher self-efficacy responded more readily to their children than those with lower self-efficacy. Conclusions Child language ability and interaction quality vary based on modifiable parent characteristics. Modifiable individual characteristics should be considered in early language interaction within and across SES groups.
了解早期语言互动中的变异性来源对于识别发展风险儿童和设计干预措施至关重要。已经广泛探索了社会经济地位（SES）群体之间的变异性。然而，SES 是一个有限的个体临床指标。例如，它通常不能直接改变。本研究的目的是检验儿童语言能力、输入数量和质量以及对偶互动是否与可改变的照顾者特征（自我效能和发展知识）相关。
我们使用一项纵向研究的基线数据（共有 41 对母子参与，30 对进行了分析）进行了二次分析。来自低收入家庭的母亲和儿童（1；0-2；3 [岁；月]）完成了人口统计问卷、自我效能和发展知识量表、儿童语言评估和互动样本。我们使用线性回归模型来检验自我效能、发展知识和结果之间的关系。
儿童接受性和表达性语言分数与母亲的自我效能、知识和效能×知识的交互作用显著相关。具体而言，只有在高发展知识的背景下，母亲的自我效能才与儿童的语言能力呈正相关。自我效能和发展知识均与母亲产生的总词数或不同词数无显著关联。然而，自我效能与每分钟儿童发起的会话回合数呈显著正相关，控制了儿童话语的数量。自我效能较高的母亲比自我效能较低的母亲更愿意回应孩子。
儿童的语言能力和互动质量取决于可改变的父母特征。在 SES 群体内部和之间的早期语言互动中，应考虑可改变的个体特征。
