Developmental Associations Between Conduct Problems and Expressive Language in Early Childhood: A Population-Based
Lisa-Christine Girard1,2,3, Jean-Baptiste Pingault4, Orla Doyle5
1Research Unit on Children's Psychosocial Maladjustment (GRIP), Université de Montreal, Montréal, QC, Canada. lisa.girard@alum.utoronto.ca.
Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology
|October 27, 2015
Summary
Early childhood conduct problems and expressive language difficulties show a reciprocal relationship. Problems in one area can negatively impact the other over time, suggesting early intervention is key.
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Child Psychiatry
- Linguistics
Background:
- Conduct problems are linked to language development issues, but the directionality in early childhood is unclear.
- Understanding this relationship is crucial for early identification and intervention strategies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To examine the longitudinal, directional associations between conduct problems and expressive language ability in early childhood.
- To determine if conduct problems predict later language ability, or if language ability predicts later conduct problems, or both.
Main Methods:
- Utilized data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study, assessing 14,004 children at 3 and 5 years of age.
- Employed cross-lagged modeling to analyze parent reports of conduct problems and standardized expressive language assessments.
Main Results:
- Conduct problems at age 3 were associated with poorer expressive language at age 5.
- Poorer expressive language at age 3 was associated with increased conduct problems by age 5.
- Findings support reciprocal, bidirectional associations between conduct problems and expressive language in early childhood.
Conclusions:
- The bidirectional relationship suggests that issues in either conduct or language can negatively influence the other.
- These modest effects highlight the importance of early intervention programs targeting both conduct problems and language acquisition before school entry.
- Further research is warranted to test the efficacy of such prevention programs.
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