ERIC Number: EJ1254117
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0009-3920
EISSN: N/A
Socioeconomic Disparities in Language Input Are Associated with Children's Language-Related Brain Structure and Reading Skills
Merz, Emily C.; Maskus, Elaine A.; Melvin, Samantha A.; He, Xiaofu; Noble, Kimberly G.
Child Development, v91 n3 p846-860 May-Jun 2020
The mechanisms underlying socioeconomic disparities in children's reading skills are not well understood. This study examined associations among socioeconomic background, home linguistic input, brain structure, and reading skills in 5-to-9-year-old children (N = 94). Naturalistic home audio recordings and high-resolution, T1-weighted MRI scans were acquired. Children who experienced more adult-child conversational turns or adult words had greater left perisylvian cortical surface area. Language input mediated the association between parental education and left perisylvian cortical surface area. Language input was indirectly associated with children's reading skills via left perisylvian surface area. Left perisylvian surface area mediated the association between parental education and children's reading skills. Language experience may thus partially explain socioeconomic disparities in language-supporting brain structure and in turn reading skills.
Descriptors: Socioeconomic Status, Reading Skills, Brain Hemisphere Functions, Correlation, Linguistic Input, Family Environment, Audio Equipment, Parent Child Relationship, Parent Background, Educational Attainment, Language Acquisition
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) (DHHS/NIH); National Institute of Mental Health (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: UL1TR001873; UL1RR024156; T32MH13043