A Comparative Analysis of Language Skills and Parent–Child Interactions in Monolingual and Bilingual Children Born Preterm
Children born preterm are at an elevated risk of language delays compared to children born full-term. However, there is a dearth of research investigating language outcomes in premature children exposed to more than one language. There is also limited empirical evidence linking the quantity and qual...
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2024-11-01
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| author | Kimberly Crespo Emma Libersky Julie Poehlmann Margarita Kaushanskaya |
| author_facet | Kimberly Crespo Emma Libersky Julie Poehlmann Margarita Kaushanskaya |
| author_sort | Kimberly Crespo |
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| description | Children born preterm are at an elevated risk of language delays compared to children born full-term. However, there is a dearth of research investigating language outcomes in premature children exposed to more than one language. There is also limited empirical evidence linking the quantity and quality of parent input and language outcomes in premature children and the strength of these relationships in bilingual contexts remains unknown. Therefore, the current study examined language skills, parent input, conversational turns, and their associations at 16 months to 36 months in monolingual and bilingual children born preterm. Nine English-speaking monolingual parent–child dyads, and nine Spanish–English bilingual parent–child dyads participated in parent–child interactions that occurred over time in play-based contexts. Results revealed that preterm monolingual and bilingual children exhibited similar language abilities at all time points assessed. While both monolingual and bilingual dyads engaged in a comparable number of conversational turns at 16 m, monolingual mothers produced more words than bilingual mothers during play. Significant associations were observed between children’s vocabulary skills and their ability to combine words within and across most time points. Notably, relationships between parental input, conversational turns, and language skills were limited to a significant association between conversational turns at 16 m and vocabulary skills at 24 m. Together, findings indicate that bilingual children born preterm acquire language on the same timeline as monolingual children born preterm. While it is crucial that the current work be replicated in larger samples of children born preterm, the current work is the first to compare relationships between children’s language outcomes and the quantity and quality of parental input in monolingual and bilingual contexts. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-c6318ff6bd734eb183d72453c281c7f8 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2226-471X |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
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| spelling | doaj-art-c6318ff6bd734eb183d72453c281c7f82025-08-20T02:00:39ZengMDPI AGLanguages2226-471X2024-11-0191236110.3390/languages9120361A Comparative Analysis of Language Skills and Parent–Child Interactions in Monolingual and Bilingual Children Born PretermKimberly Crespo0Emma Libersky1Julie Poehlmann2Margarita Kaushanskaya3Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA 02215, USADepartment of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USADepartment of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USADepartment of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI 53706, USAChildren born preterm are at an elevated risk of language delays compared to children born full-term. However, there is a dearth of research investigating language outcomes in premature children exposed to more than one language. There is also limited empirical evidence linking the quantity and quality of parent input and language outcomes in premature children and the strength of these relationships in bilingual contexts remains unknown. Therefore, the current study examined language skills, parent input, conversational turns, and their associations at 16 months to 36 months in monolingual and bilingual children born preterm. Nine English-speaking monolingual parent–child dyads, and nine Spanish–English bilingual parent–child dyads participated in parent–child interactions that occurred over time in play-based contexts. Results revealed that preterm monolingual and bilingual children exhibited similar language abilities at all time points assessed. While both monolingual and bilingual dyads engaged in a comparable number of conversational turns at 16 m, monolingual mothers produced more words than bilingual mothers during play. Significant associations were observed between children’s vocabulary skills and their ability to combine words within and across most time points. Notably, relationships between parental input, conversational turns, and language skills were limited to a significant association between conversational turns at 16 m and vocabulary skills at 24 m. Together, findings indicate that bilingual children born preterm acquire language on the same timeline as monolingual children born preterm. While it is crucial that the current work be replicated in larger samples of children born preterm, the current work is the first to compare relationships between children’s language outcomes and the quantity and quality of parental input in monolingual and bilingual contexts.https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/12/361pretermlanguage developmentparent–child interactionsbilingualism |
| spellingShingle | Kimberly Crespo Emma Libersky Julie Poehlmann Margarita Kaushanskaya A Comparative Analysis of Language Skills and Parent–Child Interactions in Monolingual and Bilingual Children Born Preterm Languages preterm language development parent–child interactions bilingualism |
| title | A Comparative Analysis of Language Skills and Parent–Child Interactions in Monolingual and Bilingual Children Born Preterm |
| title_full | A Comparative Analysis of Language Skills and Parent–Child Interactions in Monolingual and Bilingual Children Born Preterm |
| title_fullStr | A Comparative Analysis of Language Skills and Parent–Child Interactions in Monolingual and Bilingual Children Born Preterm |
| title_full_unstemmed | A Comparative Analysis of Language Skills and Parent–Child Interactions in Monolingual and Bilingual Children Born Preterm |
| title_short | A Comparative Analysis of Language Skills and Parent–Child Interactions in Monolingual and Bilingual Children Born Preterm |
| title_sort | comparative analysis of language skills and parent child interactions in monolingual and bilingual children born preterm |
| topic | preterm language development parent–child interactions bilingualism |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/12/361 |
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