Hostname: page-component-848d4c4894-ttngx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-06-02T13:15:51.644Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The bidirectional association between maternal speech and child characteristics

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2019

Catherine MIMEAU Open the ORCID record for Catherine MIMEAU [Opens in a new window] ,
Édith CANTIN ,
Richard E. TREMBLAY ,
Michel BOIVIN  and
Ginette DIONNE
Catherine MIMEAU
Affiliation:
Université Laval, Canada
Édith CANTIN
Affiliation:
Université Laval, Canada
Richard E. TREMBLAY
Affiliation:
Université de Montréal, Canada
Michel BOIVIN
Affiliation:
Université Laval, Canada
Ginette DIONNE*
Affiliation:
Université Laval, Canada
*
*Corresponding author: École de psychologie, Université Laval, 2325 rue des Bibliothèques, Québec (Quebec), G1V 0A6, Canada. E-mail: ginette.dionne@psy.ulaval.ca
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Our aim was to assess whether infants influence the quantity and quality of their mothers’ speech to them and, in turn, whether this maternal speech influences children's later language. As 189 mothers interacted with each of their twins at age 0;5, we calculated the number of utterances, the proportion of sensitive utterances, and the proportion of self-repeated utterances they produced. We later assessed the twins’ language comprehension and production when they were 1;6, 2;6, and 5;2. Quantity of maternal speech predicted child language at 5;2, whereas sensitivity predicted child language at 2;6 and 5;2 and partial self-repetition predicted child language at 1;6. Conversely, sensitivity and partial self-repetition in maternal speech at 0;5 were associated with genetic factors from the child, indicating that infant characteristics influence the quality of maternal speech. Overall, our findings stress the importance of considering both directions in the association between maternal speech and child characteristics.

Keywords

maternal speechinfantschild languagechild effectsbehavioural genetics
Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 47 , Special Issue 2: The Influence of Input Quality and Communicative Interaction on Language Development Part 2 , March 2020 , pp. 435 - 456
Check for updates
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adamson, L. B., Bakeman, R., & Deckner, D. F. (2004). The development of symbol-infused joint engagement. Child Development, 75, 1171–87.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Akhtar, N., Dunham, F., & Dunham, P. J. (1991). Directive interactions and early vocabulary development: the role of joint attentional focus. Journal of Child Language, 18, 41–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Baumwell, L., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., & Bornstein, M. H. (1997). Maternal verbal sensitivity and child language comprehension. Infant Behavior and Development, 20, 247–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benasich, A. A., & Brooks-Gunn, J. (1996). Maternal attitudes and knowledge of child-rearing: associations with family and child outcomes. Child Development, 67, 1186–205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boivin, M., Brendgen, M., Dionne, G., Dubois, L., Pérusse, D., Robaey, P., … Vitaro, F. (2013). The Quebec Newborn Twin Study into adolescence: 15 years later. Twin Research and Human Genetics, 16, 64–9.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boivin, M., Pérusse, D., Dionne, G., Saysset, V., Zoccolillo, M., Tarabulsy, G. M., … Tremblay, R. E. (2005). The genetic-environmental etiology of parents’ perceptions and self-assessed behaviours toward their 5-month-old infants in a large twin and singleton sample. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46, 612–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bornstein, M. H., Tal, J., Rahn, C., Galperín, C. Z., Pêcheux, M.-G., Lamour, M., … Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (1992). Functional analysis of the contents of maternal speech to infants of 5 and 13 months in four cultures: Argentina, France, Japan, and the United States. Developmental Psychology, 28, 593–603.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bornstein, M. H., Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Hahn, C.-S., & Haynes, O. M. (2008). Maternal responsiveness to young children at three ages: longitudinal analysis of a multidimensional, modular, and specific parenting construct. Developmental Psychology, 44, 867–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Boudreault, M.-C., Cabirol, E. l.-A., Trudeau, N., Poulin-Dubois, D., & Sutton, A. (2007). MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories: validity and preliminary normative data. Canadian Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology, 31, 27–37.Google Scholar
Cantin, E. (2010). Étude des contributions environnementales et génétiques au langage maternel lors d'interactions mère-enfant à 5 mois [Study of the environmental and genetic contributions to maternal speech during mother–child interactions at 5 months] (Doctoral dissertation, Université Laval, Québec, Canada). Retrieved from <https://corpus.ulaval.ca>..' href=https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Cantin,+E.+(2010).+Étude+des+contributions+environnementales+et+génétiques+au+langage+maternel+lors+d'interactions+mère-enfant+à+5+mois+[Study+of+the+environmental+and+genetic+contributions+to+maternal+speech+during+mother–child+interactions+at+5+months]+(Doctoral+dissertation,+Université+Laval,+Québec,+Canada).+Retrieved+from+.>Google Scholar
Cleveland, A., Schug, M., & Striano, T. (2007). Joint attention and object learning in 5- and 7-month-old infants. Infant and Child Development, 16, 295–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Deater-Deckard, K. (2000). Parenting and child behavioral adjustment in early childhood: a quantitative genetic approach to studying family processes. Child Development, 71, 468–84.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
DiLalla, L. F., & Bishop, E. G. (1996). Differential maternal treatment of infant twins: effects on infant behaviors. Behavior Genetics, 26, 535–42.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dionne, G., Dale, P. S., Boivin, M., & Plomin, R. (2003). Genetic evidence for bidirectional effects of early lexical and grammatical development. Child Development, 74, 394–412.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dunn, L. M., Thériault-Whalen, C. M., & Dunn, L. M. (1993). Échelle de vocabulaire en images Peabody : Adaptation française du Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised. Toronto: Psycan.Google Scholar
Fenson, L., Dale, P. S., Reznick, J. S., Bates, E., Thal, D. J., & Pethick, S. J. (1994). Variability in early communicative development. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 59(5), 1–173.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Geoffroy, M.-C., Côté, S. M., Giguère, C.-E. d., Dionne, G., Zelazo, P. D., Tremblay, R. E., … Séguin, J. R. (2010). Closing the gap in academic readiness and achievement: the role of early childcare. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51, 1359–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goldsmith, H. H., Buss, K. A., & Lemery, K. S. (1997). Toddler and childhood temperament: expanded content, stronger genetic evidence, new evidence for the importance of environment. Developmental Psychology, 33, 891–905.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Golinkoff, R. M., Deniz Can, D., Soderstrom, M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2015). (Baby)talk to me: the social context of infant-directed speech and its effects on early language acquisition. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 24, 339–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoff, E. (2003). The specificity of environmental influence: socioeconomic status affects early vocabulary development via maternal speech. Child Development, 74, 1368–78.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Developmental Review, 26, 55–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoff, E., & Naigles, L. (2002). How children use input to acquire a lexicon. Child Development, 73, 418–33.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoff-Ginsberg, E. (1985). Some contributions of mothers’ speech to their children's syntactic growth. Journal of Child Language, 12, 367–85.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoff-Ginsberg, E. (1986). Function and structure in maternal speech: their relation to the child's development of syntax. Developmental Psychology, 22, 155–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huttenlocher, J., Haight, W., Bryk, A., Seltzer, M., & Lyons, T. (1991). Early vocabulary growth: relation to language input and gender. Developmental Psychology, 27, 236–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huttenlocher, J., Vasilyeva, M., Cymerman, E., & Levine, S. (2002). Language input and child syntax. Cognitive Psychology, 45, 337–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huttenlocher, J., Waterfall, H., Vasilyeva, M., Vevea, J., & Hedges, L. V. (2010). Sources of variability in children's language growth. Cognitive Psychology, 61, 343–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knopik, V. S., Neiderhiser, J. M., DeFries, J. C., & Plomin, R. (2016). Behavioral genetics (7th ed.). New York: Worth.Google ScholarPubMed
Lacroix, V., Pomerleau, A., Malcuit, G., Séguin, R., & Lamarre, G. (2001). Développement langagier et cognitif de l'enfant durant les trois premières années en relation avec la durée des vocalisations maternelles et les jouets présents dans l'environnement : Étude longitudinale auprès de populations à risque. Revue canadienne des science du comportement, 33, 65–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McGillion, M. L., Herbert, J. S., Pine, J. M., Keren-Portnoy, T., Vihman, M. M., & Matthews, D. E. (2013). Supporting early vocabulary development: What sort of responsiveness matters? IEEE Transactions on Autonomous Mental Development, 5, 240–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nelson, K. (1973). Structure and strategy in learning to talk. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 38(1/2), 1–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Newman, R. S., Rowe, M. L., & Bernstein Ratner, N. (2016). Input and uptake at 7 months predicts toddler vocabulary: the role of child-directed speech and infant processing skills in language development. Journal of Child Language, 43, 1158–73.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pan, B. A., Imbens-Bailey, A., Winner, K., & Snow, C. (1996). Communicative intents expressed by parents in interaction with young children. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 42, 248–66.Google Scholar
Petrill, S. A., Saudino, K. S., Wilkerson, B., & Plomin, R. (2001). Genetic and environmental molarity and modularity of cognitive functioning in 2-year-old twins. Intelligence, 29, 31–43.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pridham, K. F., Chang, A. S., & Chiu, Y.-M. (1994). Mothers’ parenting self-appraisals: the contribution of perceived infant temperament. Research in Nursing & Health, 17, 381–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roberts, M. Y., & Kaiser, A. P. (2011). The effectiveness of parent-implemented language interventions: a meta-analysis. American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology, 20, 180–99.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robinson, G. E., Grozinger, C. M., & Whitfield, C. W. (2005). Sociogenomics: social life in molecular terms. Nature Reviews Genetics, 6, 257–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rollins, P. R. (2003). Caregivers’ contingent comments to 9-month-old infants: relationships with later language. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 221–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, M. L. (2012). A longitudinal investigation of the role of quantity and quality of child-directed speech in vocabulary development. Child Development, 83, 1762–74.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saffran, J. R., Aslin, R. N., & Newport, E. L. (1996). Statistical learning by 8-month-old infants. Science, 274, 1926–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schick, A. R., Melzi, G., & Obregón, J. (2017). The bidirectional nature of narrative scaffolding: Latino caregivers’ elaboration while creating stories from a picture book. First Language, 37, 301–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shimpi, P. M., & Huttenlocher, J. (2007). Redirective labels and early vocabulary development. Journal of Child Language, 34, 845–59.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Smolak, L. (1987). Child characteristics and maternal speech. Journal of Child Language, 14, 481–92.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Snow, C. E. (1972). Mothers’ speech to children learning language. Child Development, 43, 549–65.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Song, L., Spier, E. T., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2014). Reciprocal influences between maternal language and children's language and cognitive development in low-income families. Journal of Child Language, 41, 305–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stanton-Chapman, T. L., Chapman, D. A., Bainbridge, N. L., & Scott, K. G. (2002). Identification of early risk factors for language impairment. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 23, 390–405.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Bornstein, M. H., & Baumwell, L. (2001). Maternal responsiveness and children's achievement of language milestones. Child Development, 72, 748–67.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tamis-LeMonda, C. S., Kuchirko, Y., & Song, L. (2014). Why is infant language learning facilitated by parental responsiveness? Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23, 121–6.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taumoepeau, M. (2016). Maternal expansions of child language relate to growth in children's vocabulary. Language Learning and Development, 12, 429–46.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tomasello, M., & Farrar, M. J. (1986). Joint attention and early language. Child Development, 57, 1454–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trudeau, N., Frank, I., & Poulin-Dubois, D. (1997). Inventaires MacArthur-Bates du développement de la communication [MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories]. Retrieved from <https://eoa.umontreal.ca/agora-des-professionnels/ressources/inventaires-macarthur-bates-imbdc/>..>Google Scholar
Vernon-Feagans, L., Pancsofar, N., Willoughby, M., Odom, E., Quade, A., Cox, M., & The Family Life Key Investigators (2008). Predictors of maternal language to infants during a picture book task in the home: family SES, child characteristics and the parenting environment. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 29, 213–26.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed