The Impact of Contextual, Maternal and Prenatal Factors on Receptive Language in a Chilean Longitudinal Birth Cohort
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ORIGINAL ARTICLE
The Impact of Contextual, Maternal and Prenatal Factors on Receptive Language in a Chilean Longitudinal Birth Cohort María Francisca Morales1 · Chamarrita Farkas2 · Eleanor Aristotelous1 · Angus MacBeth1 Accepted: 23 October 2020 © The Author(s) 2020
Abstract A secondary analysis was conducted on longitudinal data collected from ELPI, a representative Chilean survey to model Chilean infant’s receptive language using contextual, maternal and prenatal factors. The sample for the current study comprised children aged between 36 and 48 months (n = 3921). The sample was re-assessed when children were aged 60–72 months (n = 3100). Linear regression analyses were conducted. At the first time point, all the predictors included were significant (living area, health system provision, maternal intelligence and education, adolescent pregnancy, maternal medical appointments during pregnancy, and presence of a significant other at childbirth), except for smoking during pregnancy. The model explained 13% of the variance. However, when timepoint one receptive language scores were included in the analyses for when children were aged 60–72 months, only two variables remained as significant predictors: previous receptive language scores and maternal education, explaining 21% of the variance. Findings and implications are discussed. Keywords Resource access · Maternal characteristics · Prenatal factors · Social support · Receptive language
Introduction Communication and language skills are complex cognitive and social features that develop across the lifespan. However, the first years of life are especially crucial as they provide the foundation for the emergence of receptive and expressive language, which in turn facilitates communication across multiple social contexts [1]. Receptive language relates to the process in which signals are understood, that is, the capacity to comprehend what is spoken, written, or signed by others [2]. Evidence suggests that higher receptive language functioning facilitates emotional regulation, promotes social and cognitive development [3]; enhances behavioural inhibition [4]; and improves executive functioning [4]. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01091-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * María Francisca Morales [email protected] 1
School of Health in Social Science, The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
Escuela de Psicología, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
2
Higher receptive language skills therefore confer considerable advantages on children’s development with implications for socio-emotional abilities, academic achievement, and school adjustment [5]. Consequently, this has important cross-overs into early childhood development policies and interventions for at-risk groups. Evidence suggests that environmental and demographic factors have a central function in children’s receptive language development [6].
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