Work

Stability of core language skill from infancy to adolescence in typical and atypical development

Year: 2018

Type: article

Abstract: Command of language is a fundamental life skill, a cornerstone of cognitive and socioemotional development, and a necessary ingredient for successful functioning in society. We used 15-year prospective longitudinal data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children to evaluate two types of stability of core language skill in 5036 typically developing and 1056 atypically developing (preterm, dyslexic, autistic, and hearing impaired) children in a multiage, multidomain, multimeasure, multireporter framework. A single core language skill was extracted from multiple measures at multiple ages, and this skill proved stable from infancy to adolescence in all groups, even accounting for child nonverbal intelligence and sociability and maternal age and education. Language skill is a highly conserved and robust individual-differences characteristic. Lagging language skills, a risk factor in child development, would profitably be addressed early in life.

Source: Science Advances

DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.aat7422

Authors: Marc H. Bornstein, Chun-Shin Hahn, Diane L. Putnick, Rebecca M. Pearson

Institutions: National Institutes of Health, Institute for Fiscal Studies, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, University of Bristol

Language: English

Topic: Language Development and Disorders

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $4,500