Risk Factors and Services for Vocabulary Delays in Early Childhood: Population-Based Estimates

Co-Principal Investigators

• Paul Morgan, Penn State University
• Marianne Hillemeier, Penn State University
• George Farkas, UC Irvine

Funder: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education

Duration: Two Years

Purpose: This project seeks to identify predictor variables for a set of outcomes that are malleable and potential targets for intervention. Analyses will estimate the effects of a range of socio-demographic, gestational, and birth characteristics as risk factors, as well as the mediating effects of high-quality parenting and childcare.

Research Questions

1. Which toddlers and preschoolers are most at risk for displaying communication delays or disorders (CD)?
2. Which children are most likely to be diagnosed by a professional as having CD?
3. For those children who are diagnosed as having a CD, what factors contribute to children's receipt of early intervention services?
4. What types of early intervention services do children with CD receive, at what frequency or intensity level, and in what settings?
5. How is natural variation in these services associated with or predictive of children's academic school readiness (i.e., early literacy and numeracy skills) at kindergarten entry?

Data Sources: Researchers will analyze ECLS-B data, which represent children born in the U.S. in 2001 (sampled using birth certificate data), who were then assessed, and other data collected, at ages 9, 24, 48, and 60 months of age.

Sample Population: The population of U.S. children of preschool age. The ECLS-B oversampled low birth weight children, twins, American Indian/Native Alaskan, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Chinese children born in the U.S.

Analysis: Researchers will estimate the extent to which the study variables predict (a) criterion-identified late talking at 24 months, (b) criterion-identified expressive and/or receptive language delays at 48 months, (c) clinician identified (i.e., diagnosed) CD by 48 months, and (d) the receipt by 48 months of early intervention services designed to increase children's communication skills and abilities during the preschool period. They also will investigate to what extent natural variation in the delivery of these services may, in turn, help increase children's early literacy and numeracy skills at 60 months.

Professor Farkas is responsible for specifying the details of the data preparation and analyses and overseeing the write-up of project findings.