Department of Communication Disorders, Steyer School of Health Professions Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel.
Behav Res Methods. 2023 Apr;55(3):1480-1495. doi: 10.3758/s13428-022-01874-9. Epub 2022 Jun 6.
The present study assessed LENA's suitability as a tool for monitoring future language interventions by evaluating its reliability, construct validity, and criterion validity in infants learning Hebrew and Arabic, across low and high levels of maternal education. Participants were 32 infants aged 3 to 11 months (16 in each language) and their mothers, whose socioeconomic status (SES) was determined based on their years of education (H-high or L-low ME-maternal education). The results showed (1) good reliability for the LENA's automatic count on adult word count (AWC), conversational turns (CTC), and infant vocalizations (CVC), based on the positive associations and fair to excellent agreement between the manual and automatic counts; (2) good construct validity based on significantly higher counts for HME vs. LME and positive associations between LENA's automatic vocal assessment (AVA) and developmental questionnaire (DA) and age; and (3) good concurrent criterion validity based on the positive associations between the LENA counts for CTC, CVC, AVA, and DA and the scores on the preverbal parent questionnaire (PRISE). The present study supports the use of LENA in early intervention programs for infants whose families speak Hebrew or Arabic. The LENA could be used to monitor the efficacy of these programs as well as to provide feedback to parents on the amount of language experience their infants are getting and their progress in vocal production. The results also indicate a potential utility of LENA in assessing linguistic environments and interactions in Hebrew- and Arabic-speaking infants with developmental disorders, such as hearing impairment and cerebral palsy.
本研究通过评估 LENA 在学习希伯来语和阿拉伯语的婴儿中的可靠性、构念效度和标准效度，来评估其作为监测未来语言干预的工具的适用性，这些婴儿的母亲教育水平有高有低。参与者为 32 名 3 至 11 个月大的婴儿（每种语言各 16 名）及其母亲，其社会经济地位（SES）根据其受教育年限（高 H 或低 L ME-母亲教育）确定。结果表明：（1）LENA 对成人单词计数（AWC）、对话回合（CTC）和婴儿发声（CVC）的自动计数具有良好的可靠性，这基于手动计数和自动计数之间的积极关联和公平到极好的一致性；（2）基于 HME 与 LME 之间的计数差异较大，以及 LENA 自动语音评估（AVA）与发育问卷（DA）和年龄之间的正相关，具有良好的构念效度；（3）基于 CTC、CVC、AVA 和 DA 的 LENA 计数与前语言父母问卷（PRISE）得分之间的正相关，具有良好的同时标准效度。本研究支持在讲希伯来语或阿拉伯语的家庭中使用 LENA 进行婴儿早期干预计划。LENA 可用于监测这些计划的效果，并为父母提供有关婴儿获得的语言经验量及其在发声方面的进展的反馈。研究结果还表明，LENA 可能具有评估有听力障碍和脑瘫等发育障碍的希伯来语和阿拉伯语婴儿的语言环境和互动的潜力。
