Child-directed speech: relation to socioeconomic status, knowledge of child development and child vocabulary skill

View/ Open
Author
Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000907008343Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
ROWE, MEREDITH L. 2008. “Child-Directed Speech: Relation to Socioeconomic Status, Knowledge of Child Development and Child Vocabulary Skill.” Journal of Child Language 35 (01) (January 3).Abstract
This study sought to determine why American parents from differentsocioeconomic backgrounds communicate in different ways with their
children. Forty-seven parent–child dyads were videotaped engaging
in naturalistic interactions in the home for ninety minutes at
child age 2;6. Transcripts of these interactions provided measures
of child-directed speech. Children’s vocabulary comprehension skills
were measured using the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test at 2;6 and
one year later at 3;6. Results indicate that: (1) child-directed speech
with toddlers aged 2;6 predicts child vocabulary skill one year later,
controlling for earlier toddler vocabulary skill ; (2) child-directed
speech relates to socioeconomic status as measured by income
and education; and (3) the relation between socioeconomic status and
child-directed speech is mediated by parental knowledge of child
development. Potential mechanisms through which parental knowledge
influences communicative behavior are discussed.
Terms of Use
This article is made available under the terms and conditions applicable to Other Posted Material, as set forth at http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:dash.current.terms-of-use#LAACitable link to this page
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:13041206
Collections
- GSE Scholarly Articles [362]
Contact administrator regarding this item (to report mistakes or request changes)