Abstract
In light of contemporary approaches, language development is part of a complex developmental framework within which it is considered to be a key factor in children's learning and social development. The timing of language emergence and development is characterised by large individual differences and variations. Studies show that children with language deficits also have difficulties in communicating, in establishing social relationships as well as present more behavioural problems. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), a disorder non-associated with other developmental problems, has been shown to cause severe limitations in children's everyday life, both in the educational process and in social interactions. However, the samples in these studies do not reflect the full range of language difficulties of young children, as they usually include in their samples children who have already been referred for language disorders and often, they do not include comparative data from typically d ...
In light of contemporary approaches, language development is part of a complex developmental framework within which it is considered to be a key factor in children's learning and social development. The timing of language emergence and development is characterised by large individual differences and variations. Studies show that children with language deficits also have difficulties in communicating, in establishing social relationships as well as present more behavioural problems. Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), a disorder non-associated with other developmental problems, has been shown to cause severe limitations in children's everyday life, both in the educational process and in social interactions. However, the samples in these studies do not reflect the full range of language difficulties of young children, as they usually include in their samples children who have already been referred for language disorders and often, they do not include comparative data from typically developing children with similar characteristics. The present study aims to investigate, in typically developing children, the multiple relationships and interactions -cross-sectional and longitudinal- between three key language variables, which are considered representative of young children's language ability, and specific factors related to children's social relationships, behavioral problems, and various aspects of their socio-emotional development: mood and behavioral control, prosocial behavior and communication, attention, concentration, persistance and initiative. More specifically, the aims of the study are (1) the cross-sectional investigation of the relationships between children's language ability and their psychosocial adjustment during the first months of kindergarten attendance (4-year-old, T1), (2) the longitudinal examination of the relationships between preschool children's language ability (4-year-old, T1) and their psychosocial adjustment one year later during the second year of kindergarten attendance (5-year-old, T2), and (3) to investigate longitudinally the relationships between preschool children's language ability (T1) and their school readiness during the transition from kindergarten to elementary school (T3). Αdditionally, pilot results are presented aimed at (4) a cross-sectional examination of the relationships between the language difficulties of 4-year-old children who meet the diagnostic criteria for Developmental Language Disorder and their psychosocial development and their comparison with children with typical language development, (5) to examine longitudinally the relationships between the language difficulties of four-year-old children who meet the diagnostic criteria for Developmental Language Disorder (T1) and their psychosocial development one year later (T2), comparing them with children who exhibit typical language development.For the needs of this study, longitudinal data were collected from 118 Greek-speaking children aged four years, which were reassessed one year later. Their language level was assessed by administering the Expressive Vocabulary Test (Vogindroukas et al., 2009) and the Pictures of Action Test (Vogindroukas et al., 2011), while at the same time, a Sociometric Test (Moreno, 1951) was administered to investigate the children's psychosocial profile. In addition, the Behavior Checklist in Preschool Age (Manolitsi, 2013) and the Emotional Well-Being Scale for Preschool Children (Bardos & Petrogiannis, forthcoming) were completed by the teachers. Finally, to measure the children's School Readiness just before entering primary school, the Skills Assessment Scale for Preschool Children (Ralli & Maridaki-Kassotaki, 2012) was filled in by teachers.In general, the findings indicate that language is related to psychosocial development in preschool children, both cross-sectionally and longitudinally. It was found that four-year-old children with a high language level are more liked by their peers, have fewer behavioural problems and are more developed socio-emotionally. Furthermore, it was found that 4-year-old children who met the diagnostic criteria for ASD exhibited increased behavioral (internalizing) problems and also lagged behind on dimensions of socio-emotional development. Over time, they were systematically ignored by their peers at age 5 and exhibited increased behavioral (internalizing) problems. Finally, it was found that 4-year-old children with a high language level show higher school readiness skills just before entering primary school, in terms of language skills, but also in terms of mathematical skills. These results lead us to the conclusion that language is an important predictor of preschool children's socio-emotional development, behaviour and school readiness. This finding is particularly important because the detection of children's language difficulties as early as in the first months of kindergarten attendance would allow us to identify a significant proportion of children at risk of developing psychosocial difficulties in the second year of kindergarten and learning difficulties during the transition to primary school. Thus, the early assessment of children's language capacity already in the first months of attending Kindergarten is of crucial importance, not only because an early inclusion of children in an intervention programme would contribute to addressing their language problems and difficulties, but also because intervening in language is expected to prevent many other adverse developments in children's social and broader psychological adjustment.
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