Communicative Function Use of Preschoolers and Mothers from Differing Racial and Socioeconomic Groups

Purpose: This study explores whether communicative function (CF: reasons for communicating) use differs by socioeconomic status (SES), race/ethnicity, or gender among preschoolers and their mothers. Method: Mother-preschooler dyads (N=95) from the National Center for Early Development and Learning’s (NCEDL, 2005) study of Family and Social Environments were observed during one structured learning and free play interaction. CFs were coded by trained independent raters. Results: Children used all CFs at similar rates but those from low SES homes produced fewer utterances and less Reasoning, while boys used less Self-maintaining and more Predicting. African American (AA) mothers produced more Directing and less Responding than European American (EA) and Latino American (LA) mothers, and LA mothers produced more utterances than EA mothers. Mothers from low SES homes did more Directing and less Responding. Conclusion: Mothers exhibited more socio-cultural differences in CFs than children; this suggests that maternal demographic characteristics may influence CF production more than child demographics at school entry. Children from low SES homes talking less and boys producing less Self-maintaining coincided with patterns previously detected in pragmatic literature. Overall, preschoolers from racial/ethnic minority and low SES homes were not less deft with CF usage, which may inform how their pragmatic skills are described.Royster Society of Fellows at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the U.S. Department of Education Foundation for Child Development

Effects of Mothers' and Preschoolers' Communicative Function Use and Demographics on Concurrent Language and Social Skills

Purpose: Achievement gaps exist between children from racial/ethnic minority and low SES homes and their peers, yet clear explanations for the gap have been elusive. In addition to vocabulary, some are examining pragmatics to help understand the gap, as functional language can a) reflect how caregivers stimulate language; b) show how preschoolers communicate and; c) affect academic performance. The purpose of this study was to examine links between linguistic performance and the communicative functions (CFs) of typically developing African American, European American, and Latino American preschool boys and girls and their mothers. Method: CFs were coded from one learning and play mother-child interaction (N=95) from the National Center for Early Development and Learning’s (NCEDL, 2005) study of Family and Social Environments. Relationships among CFs, demographics and performance on standardized language, receptive vocabulary, and social competence measures were analyzed. Results: Mother Reporting, mother Reasoning, mother Total Utterances, gender, and poverty predicted performance, while Predicting was the only child CF to predict performance. Conclusion: Associations between gender, poverty, and mothers’ CFs suggest that lower performance for boys and children who are poor may reflect a lack of experience rather than a lack of basic communicative competence, as few child CFs were related to performance. By implication, determinations of language deficits in CLD children should consider that observed difficulty may be due to differences in early exposure to some CFs by their mothers or how teachers are measuring performance.Royster Society of Fellows at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill Office of Educational Research and Improvement in the U.S. Department of Education Foundation for Child Developmen

Infant Attentional Behaviors Are Associated with ADHD Symptomatology and Executive Function in Early Childhood

Objective: We explored associations between infant attentional behaviors as measured by the First Year Inventory (FYIv2.0) and dimensional ratings of ADHD symptomatology and executive function (EF) in early childhood. Methods: This study included parents (N = 229) who filled out the FYIv2.0 when their children were 12 months of age. When children were approximately 54 months (4.5 years) of age, parents completed reports of children’s ADHD symptomatology and EF abilities. Correlation and regression analyses were conducted among measures. Results: We found significant associations among the variables of interest, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, as well as gender differences. Notably, non-social sensory attention (NSA) was significantly related to 54-month ADHD symptom severity. All three 12-month attention variables were significantly related to 54-month EF. Conclusion: Results suggest that infant attentional behaviors predict later ADHD-related behaviors in early childhood. Future research should explore associations using laboratory-based measures and could inform early intervention efforts