Associations Between Toddler-Age Communication and Kindergarten-Age Self-Regulatory Skills

Abstract

RUNNING HEAD: Communication and Self-regulatory Skills 2 ABSTRACT Purpose: The study aimed at gaining understanding on the associations of different types of early language and communication profiles with later self-regulation skills utilizing longitudinal data from toddler-age to kindergarten-age.Method: Children with early language profiles representing expressive delay, broad delay (i.e., expressive, social, and/or symbolic), and typical language development were compared in domains of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills (attentional/executive functions, regulation of emotions and behavioral activity, and social skills) assessed with parental questionnaires.Results: Children with delay in toddler-age language development demonstrated poorer kindergarten-age self-regulation skills than children with typical early language development.Broad early language delays were associated with compromised social skills and attentional/executive functions, and early expressive delays were associated with a generally lower level of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills. Regression analyses showed that both earlier and concurrent language had an effect especially on the attentional/executive functions. Conclusions:The findings suggest that different aspects of toddler-age language have differential associations with later self-regulation. Possible mechanisms linking early language development to later self-regulative development are discussed.Keywords: prelinguistic communication and language, early language delay, self-regulation RUNNING HEAD: Communication and Self-regulatory Skills 3 Associations between Toddler-age Communication and Kindergarten-age Self-regulatory Skills A range of self-regulatory skills, such asattentional/executive regulation and regulation of behavior, emotions, and social interchanges, are needed for competent functioning in the home, school, and social community (see Bronson, 2000). Weaknesses in these skills have been associated with negative outcomes in a range of domains such as social adjustment (for a review, see Vohs & Ciarocco, 2004) and academic success (Schunk & Zimmerman, 1997, 2007. The maturation of self-regulation is influenced by the emergence of early cognitive skills including attention (e.g., Posner & Rothbart, 2000), representative memory, and inhibition (Barkley, 1997(Barkley, , 2021Wolfe & Bell, 2007). An additional domain of specific interest is language, which is assumed to pave the way for the development of regulatory skills by providing the psychological tools needed to gain mastery over behavior and cognition (see Kopp, 1982;Vygotsky, 1962). Although documentation of behavioral, emotional, and social difficulties (e.g., Lindsay, Dockrell, & Srand, 2007; St Clair, Pickles, Durkin, & Conti-Ramsden, 2011), and attentional or executive deficits (e.g., Henry, Messer, & Nash, 2012) among children with language impairments attest to the association between language and self-regulatory development, understanding of the developmental mechanisms behind this ...

Relationship between early language skills and the development of inattention/hyperactivity symptoms during the preschool period: Results of the EDEN mother-child cohort

“…Early language skills not only predict later language skills but also later IH symptoms. Our results are consistent with prior findings [13, 14]. …”

“…We expect to replicate previous longitudinal studies [13, 14], which found an asymmetrical association between language skills and IH symptoms during the preschool period (i.e., the association between language skills and IH symptoms was stronger than the reverse). If the influence of early language difficulties on the development of IH symptoms is mediated by an ineffective use of self-directed speech, language tests tapping into expressive language skills should be most strongly associated with later IH symptoms ( Hypothesis 1 ).…”

“…However, in longitudinal studies the association between early IH symptoms with later language skills has been found to be weak or absent [5, 13]. Several authors have suggested that language difficulties could precede the development of ADHD and represent an early expression of the disorder [14, 15]. …”

“…Longitudinal studies have reported that early language difficulties are associated with later IH symptoms during the preschool [13, 14] and school periods [5, 20, 21], even when prior levels of IH symptoms are accounted for. Recent results of longitudinal studies support a causal role of language difficulties in the development of IH symptoms [13].…”

Audience, Content, Media: A Literature Review about Factors to Consider When Designing Technology Based Asthma Education Programs for Children

“…For this reason, young children with asthma need to be taught self-regulation, which refers to how an individual systematically manages feelings, thoughts, and behaviors, [36] adjusting them to meet a situation's demands [37]. Self-regulation also includes the abilities to inhibit first responses, resist interference from irrelevant stimulation, and persist in relevant but unenjoyable tasks [37].…”