Self and other : socio-emotional aspects of development in children with language impairment

Abstract

The thesis comprises four studies that focus on young children with language impairment (LI). The research focus was different aspects of socio-emotional development.

In Study I visual check back behaviors were investigated in ten pre-school-aged children with LI and in two groups of children with typical development (TD); ten children that were matched with regard to age (AMC) and ten children matched with regard to language level (LMC). Play setting situations were designed to elicit the target behaviors of shared attention, intention and emotion. The children with lower language level (LI and LMC) gave visual check back significantly more seldom than children with a higher language level (AMC).

In Study II, the association between communication and language level, and socio-emotional level was investigated by parent ratings. Pre-school-aged children with LI and children with TD were assessed by their respective parents using The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories (Swedish version (SECDI) and Greenspan Socio Emotional Growth Chart, (GSEGC). An association between language and socio-emotional development was found. Children with LI were rated similar to the young language-matched children with TD, but significantly lower relative to age-matched TD children, particularly concerning symbolic stages of development.

In Study III, a case study, the capacity to mentalize was explored in a primary-school-aged boy with a history of LI. In play situations, the child was presented story stems that he could complete by play actions or verbally. The mentalizing capacity was analyzed with respect to the organization and the content of his responses, as well as his observable behavior in the situation. The child had difficulties in affect regulation, i.e. self-oriented mentalizing, and his other-oriented mentalizing was limited as well.

In Study IV, parental stress and the parents’ perception of their child’s behavioral as well as communication and language difficulties were investigated by Swedish Parenthood Stress Questionnaire (SPSQ), Swedish version of Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ-Swe) and the Swedish version of MacArthur Communicative Developmental Inventories (SECDI), in three groups of pre-school-aged children: children with LI, children with more extensive communication difficulties and suspected ASD (COM), and children with TD. Parental experience of stress differed significantly between the groups on total and specific aspects of stress. A significant association was found between parental stress and children’s behavioral difficulties in the total group, but not in the clinical groups. Parental stress and children’s communication and language difficulties were associated in the group COM with extensive communication difficulties.