Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 30, 2025

Measuring Statistical Learning Across Modalities and Domains in School-Aged Children Via an Online Platform and Neuroimaging Techniques
Published on: June 30, 2020
Correlation between risk factors that influence the development of children's language
Marianna Momoe Nanakuma Matsumoto1, Heloisa Adhmann Ferreira1, Isabelly Bueno Araujo1
1Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de São Paulo - USP - São Paulo (SP), Brasil.
Insights
This study identified key risk factors impacting child development and language acquisition. Male gender, white ethnicity, lower socioeconomic status, and altered temperaments in children and mothers were significant predictors.
Area of Science:
- Child Development
- Speech and Language Pathology
- Pediatric Health
Background:
- Child development is influenced by various factors, with early identification of risks crucial for intervention.
- Language and speech disorders can significantly impact a child's overall development and learning trajectory.
- Existing risk assessment protocols require validation and correlation to enhance their predictive power.
Purpose of the Study:
- To identify significant risk factors for child development using the Protocol for the Identification of Risk Factors for Language and Speech Disorders (PIFRAL) and the Language Development Protocol (PDL).
- To correlate the findings from PIFRAL and PDL to provide a comprehensive understanding of developmental risks.
- To elucidate the implications of identified risk factors on language acquisition in young children.
Main Methods:
- A retrospective analysis of 194 children aged 0-5 years 11 months from primary health care in São Paulo, Brazil (2016-2020).
- Utilized R software for statistical analysis to correlate risk factors and analyze Language Development Protocol (PDL) results.
- Defined altered PDL results as the presence of one or more altered developmental axes.
Main Results:
- 62.4% of participants exhibited altered PDLs, indicating potential developmental concerns.
- Key risk factors identified included male gender, white ethnicity, and lower socioeconomic status (upper middle, lower middle, or low class).
- Maternal and child temperament alterations, along with maternal education level up to high school, were also significant risk factors.
Conclusions:
- The study successfully correlated the PIFRAL and PDL protocols, validating their combined use in risk assessment.
- Identified specific demographic and temperamental factors as significant predictors of altered child development and language acquisition.
- Findings underscore the importance of considering a multifaceted approach to identify and address risks in early childhood development.
Purpose:
To identify the most significant risk factors for child development through the application of two risk protocols, namely, the Protocol for the Identification of Risk Factors for Language and Speech Disorders (PIFRAL) and the Language Development Protocol (PDL).
Methods:
A retrospective study was carried out with 194 children aged 0 to 5 years and 11 months who were participants of primary health care (PHC) in the municipality of São Paulo, Brazil, from 2016 to 2020. The database was thoroughly analyzed using R software, and the most relevant risk factors were correlated through statistical analysis, generating altered and unaltered PDL results. Altered PDL results in the presence of one or more altered axes.
Results:
Of the 194 participants, 62.4% had altered PDLs, and the risk factors that were most common in this group were male gender; being white; having a family socioeconomic level of upper middle, lower middle or low class; having a level of education up to high school; having a child with an altered temperament and having a mother with an altered temperament.
Conclusion:
This research has achieved its goals, first, by correlating the PIFRAL and PDL protocols and second, by showing some of the risk factors for child development and their implications for language acquisition.
Related Concept Videos
Language Development
The critical period for language acquisition suggests that the ability to acquire language is at its peak early in life. As people age, this proficiency decreases. Language development begins very...
Language and Cognition
Language
Corballis and Suddendorf (2007) and Tomasello and Rakoczy (2003) highlight the role of language in...
Biological Influences on Intelligence
Environmental Influences on Intelligence
Psychological and Sociocultural Causes of Schizophrenia

