Understanding the prevalence and manifestation of anxiety and other socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties in children with Developmental Language Disorder

Abstract

Background It is well-documented that children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) have a higher likelihood of experiencing anxiety, as well as other socio-emotional and behavioural (SEB) difficulties. Despite this, there is little consensus as to how these difficulties manifest. This study aims to understand the prevalence of broader SEB difficulties and anxiety, informing intervention development by understanding the relationships between them. Methods A mixed-methods, case–control study was conducted. First, an online survey was completed by 107 parents of either children with DLD (“DLD sample”; n = 57) or typically developing children (“typical sample”; n = 50), aged 6–12 years old. Binary SEB statements informed by previous qualitative work (e.g. “my child requires routine/sameness”; “my child has frequent tantrums”) provided an insight into the prevalence of SEB difficulties in both DLD and typical samples. Validated measures of anxiety, emotion regulation, intolerance of uncertainty, insistence on sameness, family stress and coping mechanisms were also collected. Correlation and mediation analyses were run using these validated measures to understand the manifestation of anxiety in children with DLD in more detail. Qualitative interviews were then carried out with a select panel of survey respondents (n = 4). Results The DLD sample scored significantly higher on all binary SEB statements than the typical sample: experiencing anxiety (80.7%, p < .05), requiring routine and sameness (75.4%, p < .001) and emotional dysregulation (75.4%; p < .001) were the most common difficulties reported for children with DLD. Using the validated scales, family stress and coping mechanisms were found to only correlate with the manifestation of anxiety in the typical group, not the DLD group. “Intolerance of uncertainty” and “insistence on sameness” were found to fully mediate the relationship between DLD diagnosis and symptoms of anxiety. Parent’s interviews provided contextual support for the analysis, as well as highlighting sensory sensitivities as a focus for future research. Conclusions Parents of children with DLD appear to cope well with their children’s complex SEB needs. Intervention focussing on intolerance of uncertainty may help the management of difficulties with anxiety. Behaviours such as insistence on sameness should be investigated further, as potential indicators for anxiety amongst children with DLD.

Reliability and validity estimation of Urdu version of Children Emotion Management Scales (CEMS) in Pakistan

“…Therefore, it indicates that children who have shyness as a dominant personality trait exhibited the use of inhibition and dysregulated expression more than children who have a lesser score on the shyness scale ( 58 ). Additionally, a significant positive correlation was observed between the aforementioned maladaptive emotion regulation strategies (inhibition and dysregulated expression) and the three subscales of the School Burnout Inventory ( 59 ). This suggests that an unhealthy emotion regulation choice is significantly related to exhaustion and burnout in children at school ( 60 ).…”

Feasibility, acceptability, and perceived benefits of a creative arts intervention for elementary school children living with speech, language and communication disorders

“…These difficulties are often comorbid with various mental health and neurodevelopmental diagnoses, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention deficit and/or hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), depression, anxiety, as well as other social and behavioral difficulties, such as aggressive behaviors (4)(5)(6)(7). Although interventions that target everyday language and communication skills are essential to support children with SLCD (8,9), it is also important to simultaneously provide mental health support to enable emotional awareness and expression, as these children often suffer psychological consequences of their communication difficulties (6). However, relying on typical verbal therapies can undermine the advantages of such mental health interventions with this population (10).…”