Fataneh Farnia

Cognitive Correlates of Vocabulary Growth in English Language Learners.

This study modeled vocabulary trajectories in 91 English language learners (ELLs) with Punjabi, Tamil, or Portuguese home languages, and 50 English monolinguals (EL1) from Grades 1 to 6. The concurrent and longitudinal relationships between phonological awareness and phonological short-term memory and vocabulary were examined. ELLs underperformed EL1s on vocabulary across all grades. Although vocabulary grew faster in ELLs than in EL1s in the primary grades, they did not close the gap after 6 years of English schooling. Mutual facilitation was found between phonological awareness, English-like nonwords, and vocabulary. A unidirectional relationship was found between Hebrew-like nonwords and vocabulary suggesting that the relationship between phonological short-term memory and vocabulary can be more accurately captured when using nonwords based on a remote, unfamiliar language.

Social-Emotional Adjustment and Attachment in Children Adopted from China: Processes and Predictors of Change.

This study examined the processes and predictors of change in maternal ratings of internalizing and externalizing symptoms and attachment security in 70 infant girls adopted from China at a mean age of 13.5 months. These children’s mental and language development were also directly assessed. The adopted children were assessed within the first month of adoption and again six, 12 and 24 months later. Comparisons were made with 43 girls of similar age and family background. Results indicated that from six months postadoption onward, adopted children exhibited a rapid increase in internalizing symptoms, especially in emotion reactivity. Adopted children initially formed attachment rapidly. Growth in attachment gradually slowed down over time. Individual differences that emerged in the rate of attachment growth from six months postadoption were related to mental ability in both groups. The results point to the effects of potential risk factors on the processes of change, at least in the two years following adoption.

I thought we were good: social cognition, figurative language, and adolescent psychopathology

BACKGROUND Language has been shown to play a critical role in social cognitive reasoning in preschool and school-aged children, but little research has been conducted with adolescents. During adolescence, the ability to understand figurative language becomes increasingly important for social relationships and may affect social adjustment. This study investigated the contribution of structural and figurative language to social cognitive skills in adolescents who present for mental health services and those who do not. METHOD One hundred and thirty-eight adolescents referred to mental health centers (clinic group) and 186 nonreferred adolescents (nonclinic group) aged 12-17 were administered measures of structural and figurative language, working memory, and social cognitive problem solving. RESULTS We found that adolescents in the clinic group demonstrated less mature social problem solving overall, but particularly with respect to anticipating and overcoming potential obstacles and conflict resolution compared with the nonclinic group. In addition, results demonstrated that age, working memory, and structural and figurative language predicted social cognitive maturity in the clinic group, but only structural language was a predictor in the nonclinic group. CONCLUSIONS Social problem solving may be particularly difficult for adolescents referred for mental health services and places higher demands on their cognitive and language skills compared with adolescents who have never been referred for mental health services.