Maternal talk influences on vocabulary and processing speed are largely overlapping, with each mediating the other's relation to input¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associational r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2008 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In mediation models, the total effect of maternal talk on vocabulary (.24, 14% of variance) was reduced to non-significance after controlling for processing speed, and the total effect on processing speed (−.33) was no longer significant after controlling for vocabulary. → Hurtado Nereyda 2008

Evidence¶

Hurtado Nereyda 2008¶

Hurtado Nereyda, Marchman Virginia A., Fernald Anne. (2008). Does input influence uptake? Links between maternal talk, processing speed and vocabulary size in Spanish-learning children. Developmental Science. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2898277/

q2 · i? · associational · r2

Multiple regression mediation analyses on the 27-dyad longitudinal sample, modeling maternal word tokens at 18 months as predictor of 24-month vocabulary and processing speed, controlling for 18-month child measures. The article reports the path coefficient "is reduced substantially after controlling for processing speed (unique r2 = 4%, ns)"; in the reverse model the total effect of −.33 (p < .01) was no longer significant after controlling for vocabulary (unique r2 = 7%, ns).

"The total effect of maternal talk is .24, accounting for 14% of the variance ( p < .03). However, the path coefficient is reduced substantially after controlling for processing speed (unique r2 = 4%, ns), suggesting that caregiver talk exerts an influence on vocabulary via processing speed."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Children of mothers who produced more word tokens at 18 months were faster to recognize familiar words at 24 months — related
• Maternal talk quantity at 18 months predicts Spanish-learning children's vocabulary size and vocabulary gains at 24 months, controlling for earlier vocabulary — related
• Substantial variability in maternal talk existed within this primarily low-SES sample, and maternal talk was uncorrelated with SES — related
• Children's vocabulary and reaction time improved significantly from 18 to 24 months, and maternal talk measures were highly intercorrelated — related
• Faster word recognition at 24 months is associated with larger vocabularies and greater vocabulary gains in Spanish-learning children — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Processing efficiency at 19 months mediates the relation between child-directed speech and 24-month vocabulary — related