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Published on: April 19, 2017
Does age moderate the influence of early life language experiences? A Naturalistic home observation study
Katrina d'Apice1, Sophie von Stumm2
1Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Canynge Hall, 39 Whatley Road, Bristol BS8 2PS, United Kingdom.
Abstract:
We explored if children's age moderated associations between their early life language experiences and their linguistic and cognitive skills. For 107 British children, aged 24 to 48 months, and their families, we collected 3 day-long audio-recordings of their naturalistic home environments (M = 15.06 h per day, SD = 1.87). Children's cognitive ability was assessed by parent-ratings and with a cognitive testing booklet that children completed at home. We found that the quantity, lexical diversity and vocabulary sophistication of adult speech were associated with children's linguistic and cognitive skills. However, these associations were not moderated by children's age. Our findings suggest that the influence of early life language experience is not differentiated at age 24 to 48 months, at least in the current sample.
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