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Updated: Sep 8, 2026

Examining Recall Memory in Infancy and Early Childhood Using the Elicited Imitation Paradigm
Published on: April 28, 2016
Childhood language ability predicts intergenerational persistence and social mobility in socioeconomic status of
James Bruce Tomblin1, Carol Scheffner Hammer2, Kristi Hendrickson1
1Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States.
Abstract:
This study examined early language abilities as a mediator of intergenerational socioeconomic status (SES). In a 30-year longitudinal study (N = 114, 98% White, 53% male, monolingual English speakers), participants were tracked from kindergarten to age 36 with measures of language, nonverbal IQ, academic achievement, and SES. Early language ability, independent of IQ, explained nearly a quarter (24%) of adult SES variance through two pathways. The persistence pathway (7.8%) showed language mediated 66% of intergenerational SES transmission. The mobility pathway (16.1%) showed language predicted deviation from family-based expectations, with twice the contribution to mobility as to persistence. Tenth-grade academic achievement added no reliable unique variance, suggesting language operates through mechanisms beyond formal education. Oral language emerges as a candidate mechanism linking family circumstances to adult socioeconomic outcomes.
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