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Children’s language abilities are negatively correlated with socioeconomic status (SES). However, translating this knowledge into prevention efforts requires greater specification, as SES is a complex and multiply determined construct. Towards this goal, we examined the impact of both SES-related demographic indicators and corollary psycho-social indicators, i.e., parental stress, depression, and violence exposure, in an ethnically- and SES-diverse group of preschoolers (mean age 4.7; n=362). Children completed 3 subtests of the CELF-P and parents reported on demographic and psychosocial indicators. Regression analysis indicated that demographic indicators of SES significantly predicted composite language standard scores. However, psychological indicators were not significantly related to language outcomes. Higher mother education and income/needs ratio may offset stressors contributing to poorer language outcomes. Conversely, the absence of associations with psychological indicators may be a methodologic artifact. Future studies will utilize more in-depth indicators of specific types of stressors to examine the impact of SES-related psychological risk processes on child language outcomes.
Funding: National Institutes of Mental Health (R01MH107652; R01MH090301). |
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