Department of Psychology and Centre for Family and Population Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Department of Sociology and Centre for Family and Population Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
Dev Sci. 2023 Jul;26(4):e13349. doi: 10.1111/desc.13349. Epub 2022 Nov 29.
It is well attested that high socio-economic status (SES) is associated with larger vocabulary size estimates in young children. This has led to growing interest in identifying associations and mechanisms that may contribute to this relationship. In this study, parent-child reading behaviors were investigated in relation to vocabulary size in a large-scale study of linguistically and socio-economically diverse families. This study sampled 902 infants in Singapore, a multilingual society. Both single-language (dominant and non-dominant) and dual-language vocabulary size estimates were obtained and related to family SES, demographic details, and home literacy activities. Results demonstrated that both single-language (dominant and non-dominant) and dual-language infant vocabulary size estimates were predicted by parental education levels. Further analyses revealed that parent-child book reading activities mediated the relationship between parental education and infant vocabulary size. Findings suggest that shared book reading may narrow effects of socio-economic disparities on early language development. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Socio-economic status (SES) was examined in relation to infant vocabulary size in a linguistically and socio-economically diverse setting. Mediating effects of the home literacy environment on infant vocabulary size were measured. Socio-economic factors, notably parental education, had both direct and indirect effects on vocabulary size. The home literacy environment mediated effects of SES on infant vocabulary size.
已有充分证据表明，较高的社会经济地位（SES）与幼儿较大的词汇量估计有关。这导致人们越来越关注可能促成这种关系的关联和机制。在这项对语言和社会经济多样化家庭进行的大规模研究中，研究人员调查了亲子阅读行为与词汇量之间的关系。该研究在新加坡抽取了 902 名婴儿作为样本，新加坡是一个多语言社会。研究人员获得了单语（主导语和非主导语）和双语词汇量估计值，并将其与家庭 SES、人口统计细节和家庭读写活动相关联。结果表明，父母教育水平可以预测单语（主导语和非主导语）和双语婴儿词汇量估计值。进一步的分析表明，亲子阅读活动在父母教育和婴儿词汇量之间起到了中介作用。研究结果表明，共享阅读可能会缩小社会经济差异对早期语言发展的影响。研究亮点：在语言和社会经济多样化的背景下，研究人员考察了社会经济地位（SES）与婴儿词汇量之间的关系。测量了家庭文化环境对婴儿词汇量的中介效应。社会经济因素，特别是父母教育，对词汇量既有直接影响，也有间接影响。家庭文化环境中介了 SES 对婴儿词汇量的影响。
