Bringing the Real World Into Developmental Science: A Commentary on Weber, Fernald, and Diop (2017)

Morelli, Gilda A.; Bard, Kim A.; Chaudhary, Nandita; Gottlieb, Alma; Keller, Heidi; Murray, Marjorie; Quinn, Naomi; Rosabal‐Coto, Mariano; Scheidecker, Gabriel; Takada, Akira; Vicedo, Marga

doi:10.1111/cdev.13115

Cited by 43 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…It should be noted that most of the families in the current study were of relatively high SES, and future studies should aim to include families across the socioeconomic stratum. There is a growing understanding that developmental pathways (like the link between adult talk and child language skills) are culturally specific rather than universal for all infants [Morelli et al, ], so the findings of the current study may not apply to non‐Western cultures. It is also important to recognize that adult speech is only one way in which parent communication supports child development [Sperry, Sperry, & Miller, ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Early language exposure supports later language skills in infants with and without autism

et al. 2019

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The way that parents communicate with their typically developing infants is associated with later infant language development. Here we aim to show that these associations are observed in infants subsequently diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study had three groups: high‐familial‐risk infants who did not have ASD (n = 46); high‐familial‐risk infants who had ASD (n = 14); and low‐familial‐risk infants who exhibited typical development (n = 36). All‐day home language recordings were collected at 9 and 15 months, and language skills were assessed at 24 months. Across all infants in the study, including those with ASD, a richer home language environment (e.g., hearing more adult words and experiencing more conversational turns) at 9 and 15 months was associated with better language skills. Higher parental educational attainment was associated with a richer home language environment. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of education on child language skills was explained by the richness of the home language environment. Exploratory analyses revealed that typically developing infants experience an increase in caregiver–child conversational turns across 9–15 months, a pattern not seen in children with ASD. The current study shows that parent behavior during the earliest stages of life can have a significant impact on later development, highlighting the home language environment as means to support development in infants with ASD. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1784–1795. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary It has long been understood that caregiver speech supports language skills in typically developing infants. In this study, parents of infants who were later diagnosed with ASD and parents of infants in the control groups completed all‐day home language recordings. We found that for all infants in our study, those who heard more caregiver speech had better language skills later in life. Parental education level was also related to how much caregiver speech an infant experienced.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Early language exposure supports later language skills in infants with and without autism

et al. 2019

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“…These abilities are very different from those fostered by dyadic, turn-taking, and sequential engagements (Chaudhary, 2012;Gratier, 2003;Keller, Otto, Lamm, Yovsi, & K€ artner, 2008). These very different social contexts are likely to have implications for the nature of children's attachment relationships (Keller & Bard, 2017) as well as for developmental trajectories in general (Keller & K€ artner, 2013).…”

Section: Taking Turns or Not?: The Structure Of Discoursementioning

confidence: 99%

“…But it seems that their understanding of this care is constrained by assumptions about normative care practices common in Western lifestyles. They view multiple care through the lens of (multiple) dyadic exchanges (for further discussion, see Morelli, Bard, et al., ). This focus ignores the multiparty interactions prevalent in many cultural communities as the normative social environment of infants, which may be different from multiple instances of dyadic interactions.…”

Section: Linking Sensitive Responsivity To Its Cultures Of Originmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Myth of Universal Sensitive Responsiveness: Comment on Mesman et al. (2017)

et al. 2018

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This article considers claims of Mesman et al. (2017) that sensitive responsiveness as defined by Ainsworth, while not uniformly expressed across cultural contexts, is universal. Evidence presented demonstrates that none of the components of sensitive responsiveness (i.e., which partner takes the lead, whose point of view is primary, and the turn-taking structure of interactions) or warmth are universal. Mesman and colleagues' proposal that sensitive responsiveness is "providing for infant needs" is critiqued. Constructs concerning caregiver quality must be embedded within a nexus of cultural logic, including caregiving practices, based on ecologically valid childrearing values and beliefs. Sensitive responsiveness, as defined by Mesman and attachment theorists, is not universal. Attachment theory and cultural or cross-cultural psychology are not built on common ground.

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“…Less well recognized, however is the “cultural misfit” between the standard ECD curriculum, which is largely imported from the United States and other Western countries, and the cultural backgrounds of the families who send their children to preschool. A few observers have highlighted this issue, suggesting that a refocusing of curricula on local expectations may yield valuable results (Morelli et al., 2018; Ng'asike, 2014; Serpell & Nsamenang, 2014). The issue is not only the expected age for particular accomplishments, but also more profoundly the selection of behaviors of most interest.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Grandmothers’ Developmental Expectations for Early Childhood in Botswana

Tsamaase

Harkness

Super

2020

New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development

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Urban and rural grandmothers (n = 20) in Botswana participated in focus groups to learn their expectations for the acquisition of skills by preschool children. Their expectations for self‐care, traditional politeness, and participation in household chores were dramatically earlier than developmental timetables reported for Western middle‐class populations. There are some differences, however, in the urban and rural grandmothers’ expectations. Rural grandmothers had earlier expectations for self‐care skills and participation in household chores, and they had more specific expectations for mastering Setswana cultural customs. In addition, some urban grandmothers, who were generally more educated, described using more reciprocal communication, and they believed in playing with their grandchildren, whereas the rural grandmothers’ communication was more instructional, and they insisted that children should play away from adults. Strikingly, there was no mention of school readiness goals or activities by either group, suggesting a “cultural misfit” between the standard early childhood curriculum, largely imported from the United States and other Western countries, and the cultural backgrounds of Batswana families. To create a more workable partnership between preschool teachers and grandparents—important caretakers of young children, both traditionally and currently—will require efforts to acknowledge and promote the values and expectations of both groups.

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Bringing the Real World Into Developmental Science: A Commentary on Weber, Fernald, and Diop (2017)

Cited by 43 publications

References 38 publications

Early language exposure supports later language skills in infants with and without autism

Early language exposure supports later language skills in infants with and without autism

The Myth of Universal Sensitive Responsiveness: Comment on Mesman et al. (2017)

Grandmothers’ Developmental Expectations for Early Childhood in Botswana

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