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Relations Between Toddler Expressive Language and Temper Tantrums in a Community Sample

Brittany L Manning1, Megan Y Roberts1,2,3, Ryne Estabrook2,3

  • 1Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, USA.

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
|March 12, 2021
PubMed

This study examined the frequent clinical observation that toddlers with less expressive language have more severe temper tantrums. A representative sample of 2,001 mothers reported on their toddler's expressive vocabulary and frequency of different temper tantrum behaviors, a prominent feature of irritability and an emergent marker of mental health risk. Results revealed that 12- to 38-month-olds with fewer spoken words demonstrated more severe (frequent and dysregulated) temper tantrums. Toddlers who were late talkers at 24-30 months also had more severe tantrums; their relative risk of having severe tantrums was 1.96 times greater than peers with typical language. These results are the first to show that language and temper tantrums are related, and that this relation is present in the second year of life. These findings point to the importance of assessing both language and mental health risk in order to promote earlier identification and intervention for early childhood disorders.

Keywords:
early childhoodexpressive languageirritabilitylanguage delaymental healthtemper tantrums

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