Speech and Language Skills of Low-Risk Preterm and Full-Term Late Talkers: The Role of Child Factors and Parent Input

Chiara Suttora, Annalisa Guarini, Mariagrazia Zuccarini, Arianna Aceti, Luigi Corvaglia and Alessandra Sansavini
Additional contact information
Chiara Suttora: Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Annalisa Guarini: Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Mariagrazia Zuccarini: Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy
Arianna Aceti: Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Luigi Corvaglia: Neonatology and Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, S. Orsola-Malpighi Hospital, 40138 Bologna, Italy
Alessandra Sansavini: Department of Psychology “Renzo Canestrari”, University of Bologna, 40127 Bologna, Italy

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 20, 1-22

Abstract: Among children in the third year of life, late talkers comprise from 9% to 20%. This range seems to increase when addressing preterm children. This study examined video-recorded child spontaneous speech during parent–child book sharing as well as linguistic skills reported through the MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories (MB-CDI) Short Form in 61 late talkers aged 30 months old (26 low-risk preterm, 8 females; 35 full-term, 12 females). Differences between low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers in child language measures and parental speech input were tested, as were the roles of child and parent factors on child language. Low-risk preterm and full-term late talkers showed similar speech and language skills. Similarly, no differences were found in measures of parental speech between groups. Child cognitive score, chronological age, and low-risk preterm status were positively associated with lexical diversity, rate, and composition of child speech production, whereas family history for language and/or learning disorders as well as parent measures of lexical diversity, rate, and grammatical complexity were negatively associated with the above child variables. In addition, child cognitive score and low-risk preterm status were positively associated with the MB-CDI measures of word and sentence production. Findings are discussed in terms of the need of good practices when following up on low-risk preterm children and of interventions targeting parents’ input to preterm and full-term late talkers.

Keywords: language delay; late talkers; early predictors; preterm birth; child spontaneous speech; MB-CDI; parent–child book sharing; child-directed speech (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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