Abstract
This study examined the concurrent and longitudinal associations of parental responsiveness and inferential language input with cognitive skills and emotion knowledge among socioeconomically disadvantaged preschoolers. Parents and 2- to 4-year-old children (mean age. =. 3.21 years, N=. 284) participated in a parent-child free play session, and children completed cognitive (language, early literacy, early mathematics) and emotion knowledge assessments. Approximately 1. year later, children completed the same assessment battery. Parental responsiveness was coded from the videotaped parent-child free play sessions, and parental inferential language input was coded from transcripts of a subset of 127 of these sessions. All analyses controlled for child age, gender, and parental education, and longitudinal analyses controlled for initial skill level. Parental responsiveness significantly predicted all concurrent cognitive skills as well as literacy, math, and emotion knowledge 1. year later. Parental inferential language input was significantly positively associated with children's concurrent emotion knowledge. In longitudinal analyses, an interaction was found such that for children with stronger initial language skills, higher levels of parental inferential language input facilitated greater vocabulary development, whereas for children with weaker initial language skills, there was no association between parental inferential language input and change in children's vocabulary skills. These findings further our understanding of the roles of parental responsiveness and inferential language input in promoting children's school readiness skills.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 14-31 |
| Number of pages | 18 |
| Journal | Journal of Experimental Child Psychology |
| Volume | 132 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Apr 1 2015 |
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Keywords
- Early childhood
- Emotion knowledge
- Language development
- Parenting
- School readiness
- Socioeconomic status
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Developmental and Educational Psychology
- Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
Cite this
Parenting predictors of cognitive skills and emotion knowledge in socioeconomically disadvantaged preschoolers. / Merz, Emily C.; Zucker, Tricia A.; Landry, Susan H.; Williams, Jeffrey M.; Assel, Michael; Taylor, Heather B.; Lonigan, Christopher J.; Phillips, Beth M.; Clancy-Menchetti, Jeanine; Barnes, Marcia A.; Eisenberg, Nancy; de Villiers, Jill.
In: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, Vol. 132, 01.04.2015, p. 14-31.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Parenting predictors of cognitive skills and emotion knowledge in socioeconomically disadvantaged preschoolers
AU - Merz, Emily C.
AU - Zucker, Tricia A.
AU - Landry, Susan H.
AU - Williams, Jeffrey M.
AU - Assel, Michael
AU - Taylor, Heather B.
AU - Lonigan, Christopher J.
AU - Phillips, Beth M.
AU - Clancy-Menchetti, Jeanine
AU - Barnes, Marcia A.
AU - Eisenberg, Nancy
AU - de Villiers, Jill
PY - 2015/4/1
Y1 - 2015/4/1
N2 - This study examined the concurrent and longitudinal associations of parental responsiveness and inferential language input with cognitive skills and emotion knowledge among socioeconomically disadvantaged preschoolers. Parents and 2- to 4-year-old children (mean age. =. 3.21 years, N=. 284) participated in a parent-child free play session, and children completed cognitive (language, early literacy, early mathematics) and emotion knowledge assessments. Approximately 1. year later, children completed the same assessment battery. Parental responsiveness was coded from the videotaped parent-child free play sessions, and parental inferential language input was coded from transcripts of a subset of 127 of these sessions. All analyses controlled for child age, gender, and parental education, and longitudinal analyses controlled for initial skill level. Parental responsiveness significantly predicted all concurrent cognitive skills as well as literacy, math, and emotion knowledge 1. year later. Parental inferential language input was significantly positively associated with children's concurrent emotion knowledge. In longitudinal analyses, an interaction was found such that for children with stronger initial language skills, higher levels of parental inferential language input facilitated greater vocabulary development, whereas for children with weaker initial language skills, there was no association between parental inferential language input and change in children's vocabulary skills. These findings further our understanding of the roles of parental responsiveness and inferential language input in promoting children's school readiness skills.
AB - This study examined the concurrent and longitudinal associations of parental responsiveness and inferential language input with cognitive skills and emotion knowledge among socioeconomically disadvantaged preschoolers. Parents and 2- to 4-year-old children (mean age. =. 3.21 years, N=. 284) participated in a parent-child free play session, and children completed cognitive (language, early literacy, early mathematics) and emotion knowledge assessments. Approximately 1. year later, children completed the same assessment battery. Parental responsiveness was coded from the videotaped parent-child free play sessions, and parental inferential language input was coded from transcripts of a subset of 127 of these sessions. All analyses controlled for child age, gender, and parental education, and longitudinal analyses controlled for initial skill level. Parental responsiveness significantly predicted all concurrent cognitive skills as well as literacy, math, and emotion knowledge 1. year later. Parental inferential language input was significantly positively associated with children's concurrent emotion knowledge. In longitudinal analyses, an interaction was found such that for children with stronger initial language skills, higher levels of parental inferential language input facilitated greater vocabulary development, whereas for children with weaker initial language skills, there was no association between parental inferential language input and change in children's vocabulary skills. These findings further our understanding of the roles of parental responsiveness and inferential language input in promoting children's school readiness skills.
KW - Early childhood
KW - Emotion knowledge
KW - Language development
KW - Parenting
KW - School readiness
KW - Socioeconomic status
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84922592577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=84922592577&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.010
DO - 10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.010
M3 - Article
C2 - 25576967
AN - SCOPUS:84922592577
VL - 132
SP - 14
EP - 31
JO - Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
JF - Journal of Experimental Child Psychology
SN - 0022-0965
ER -