Suvi Stolt

Maternal depression is associated with mother-infant interaction in preterm infants.

Aim: The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence and the background factors of maternal depressive symptoms and their relation to the quality of mother–infant interaction in a group of preterm infants and their mothers.

The early lexical development and its predictive value to language skills at 2 years in very-low-birth-weight children.

UNLABELLED The aim of this longitudinal study was to obtain information on the early lexical development and its predictive value to language skills in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) children. The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory was used to collect data of the early receptive and expressive lexicon of the 32 VLBW children. This information was compared to the data of 35 full-term controls. The childrens language skills were tested using Reynell Developmental Language Scales at 2 years. The growth of the receptive lexicon was slower, and the language skills poorer in VLBW children. The early receptive lexicon growth was strongly associated with the performance in Reynells test in VLBW children. The findings indicate that the small receptive lexicon size is an early predictor of delayed language development in VLBW children. The results also emphasise the need to assess the language development of the VLBW children in detail at an early age. LEARNING OUTCOMES The reader becomes aware of the receptive and expressive lexical development of the VLBW children, and learns about the predictive value of early vocabulary growth to the language skills at 2 years of corrected age in this group of children.

Early lexical development of Finnish children: A longitudinal study

The growth rate and the development of the composition of the receptive and expressive lexicon were studied in a longitudinal sample of 35 Finnish children. The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory was used to gather data of the receptive lexicon at 0;9, 1;0 and 1;3, and the expressive lexicon at 0;9, 1;0, 1;3, 1;6 and 2;0. The receptive lexicon was acquired earlier, at a faster rate and with higher individual variation than the expressive lexicon. A gender difference was found in expressive vocabulary, but not in receptive vocabulary. The growth trajectories of semantic lexical categories detected in both lexicons resembled each other. Verbs were acquired more readily in receptive lexicons. Results support a universal sequence in the development of the composition of the lexicon.

Relations between maternal attachment representations and the quality of mother-infant interaction in preterm and full-term infants

The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between maternal representations and the quality of mother-infant interaction in a group of preterm and full-term infants. The study groups consisted of 38 mothers and their preterm infants (</=1500g or<32 gestational weeks) and 45 mothers and their full-term infants. Maternal representations were assessed using the Working Model of Child Interview (WMCI) at 12 months of the infants corrected age. The quality of mother-infant interaction was studied using the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment (PCERA) method at 6 and 12 months of the infants corrected age. The results showed that maternal representations are related to the quality of mother-infant interaction in a parallel manner in preterm and full-term infants and their mothers. Furthermore, distorted representations were more strongly related to a higher number of areas of concern in mother-infant interaction than other representation classifications. Our results underline the importance of combined assessment of the subjective experiences of the mother and the quality of mother-infant interaction in clinical follow-up. This is the first study to describe the relation between maternal attachment representations and the quality of mother-infant interaction involving preterm infants.

Associations between lexicon and grammar at the end of the second year in Finnish children

ABSTRACTThe emergence of grammar in relation to lexical growth was analyzed in a sample of Finnish children (N=181) at 2 ; 0. The Finnish version of the Communicative Development Inventory was used to gather information on both language domains. The onset of grammar occurred in close association with vocabulary growth. The acquisition of the nominal and verbal inflections of Finnish differed when analyzed in relation to the lexicon in which they are used: the strongest growth in the acquisition of case form types occurred when the nominal lexicon size was roughly between 50 and 250 words, whereas verb inflectional types were acquired actively from the beginning of the verb lexicon acquisition. The findings extend the previous findings of the close association between lexicon and grammar (e.g. Bates & Goodman, 1999). The results suggest that different grammatical structures display different degrees and types of lexical dependency.

Development and Predictive Value of Early Vocalizations in Very-Low-Birth-Weight Children: A Longitudinal Study.

The aim of the present study was to analyze early vocalization development, the predictive value of this development in terms of later language skills, and possible gender difference in early vocalization development in a selected cohort of 32 very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) children and 35 full-term controls. The data on early vocalization development were gathered using a structured maternal report method. Language skills were assessed at 2.0. No significant difference was found between the groups in the rate of early vocalization development when corrected age was used for the VLBW children. The rate of early vocalization development correlated significantly with later language performance in VLBW children. Only weak correlations were detected in the control group. We found no gender difference in early vocalization development in either of the groups. The findings suggest that the rate of early vocalization development can be used as a clinical predictor of later linguistic performance in VLBW children.

The development and predictive value of gestures in very-low-birth-weight children: a longitudinal study.

Abstract The present study analysed the development of gestures between 0;9–1;3 years, and the predictive value of this development for language skills at 2;0 in very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) children. Participants were 32 VLBW children and their 35 controls. The data on gestures was gathered using the Finnish version of the Communicative Development Inventory (FinCDI). At 2;0, the language skills of the children were assessed using the Reynell Developmental Language Scales (RDLS III) and the FinCDI. The number of acquired gestures was lower in the VLBW children than in the controls. The development of gestures correlated significantly with later expressive language in both groups, but significant correlations between the development of gestures and later receptive language development were detected only in the VLBW group. When the predictive value of gestures and early expressive and receptive lexicon with regard to later language skills were analysed, the development of gestures at 1;3 had good predictive value for poor language performance at 2;0. In addition, a small receptive lexicon size at 1;0 and at 1;3 was also a good predictor for later language performance. The development of gestures and receptive lexicon thus jointly provide clinically valuable information on the emerging language skills of VLBW children.

Early relations between language development and the quality of mother-child interaction in very-low-birth-weight children.

BACKGROUND It is not clearly understood how the quality of early mother-child interaction influences language development in very-low-birth-weight children (VLBW). AIMS We aim to analyze associations between early language and the quality of mother-child interaction, and, the predictive value of the features of early mother-child interaction on language development at 24 months of corrected age in VLBW children. STUDY DESIGN A longitudinal prospective follow-up study design was used. METHODS The participants were 28 VLBW children and 34 full-term controls. Language development was measured using different methods at 6, 12 and at 24 months of age. The quality of mother-child interaction was assessed using PC-ERA method at 6 and at 12 months of age. RESULTS Associations between the features of early interaction and language development were different in the groups of VLBW and full-term children. There were no significant correlations between the features of mother-child interaction and language skills when measured at the same age in the VLBW group. Significant longitudinal correlations were detected in the VLBW group especially if the quality of early interactions was measured at six months and language skills at 2 years of age. However, when the predictive value of the features of early interactions for later poor language performance was analyzed separately, the features of early interaction predicted language skills in the VLBW group only weakly. CONCLUSIONS The biological factors may influence on the language development more in the VLBW children than in the full-term children. The results also underline the role of maternal and dyadic factors in early interactions.

The language used in early mother-child interaction by very-low-birth-weight children, with a focus on the emergence of grammar

Resumen El objetivo de este estudio es analizar el lenguaje utilizado en las interacciones tempranas entre madre e hijo en una cohorte seleccionada de ninos con muy bajo peso al nacer (MBPN). Se analizaron los tipos de palabras y los tipos flexivos del finlandes utilizados a la edad de 1;6 y 2;0 anos en interacciones madre-hijo y se compararon con los de 35 controles nacidos a termino. Se recabo tambien la informacion referente al desarrollo gramatical temprano utilizando la version finlandesa del Inventario de Desarrollo Comunicativo en ambas edades. Ademas, se analizaron las habilidades linguisticas de los ninos a los 2;0 anos. Aunque solo surgieron algunas diferencias significativas entre los grupos a los 1;6 anos, a los 2;0 los ninos con MBPN presentaron habilidades sensiblemente inferiores en casi todas las variables. Las variables analizadas de la interaccion entre madre e hijo se correlacionaron significativamente con los datos recopilados utilizando otros metodos, lo que indica que a esa edad el dominio general del lenguaje de los ninos con MBPN se refleja claramente en el lenguaje que utilizan en la interaccion madre-hijo. Los resultados apuntan a que la adquisicion gramatical puede resultar especialmente dificil para los ninos con MBPN al final del segundo ano.

The prevalence and predictive value of weak language skills in children with very low birth weight – a longitudinal study

Previous findings regarding the prevalence and predictive value of weak language skills in preterm children with very low birth weight (VLBW) are unclear. This study analysed the prevalence of weak language skills, the predictive value of early weak language skills on later weak language skills, and the sensitivity and specificity of cognitive scores for identifying concurrent weak language skills in a longitudinal sample of VLBW children (n = 141) and their full‐term controls (n = 146).