title: Maternal responsiveness predicts child language at ages 3 and 4 in a community-based sample of slow-to-talk toddlers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Maternal responsiveness has been shown to predict child language outcomes in clinical samples of children with language delay and non-representative samples of typically developing children. An effective and timely measure of maternal responsiveness for use at the population level has not yet been established.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether a global rating of maternal responsiveness at age 2 years predicts language outcomes at ages 3 and 4 in a community sample of slow-to-talk toddlers.
  
  
  METHODS
  In an Australian population-based study, at child age 1:6 years, 301 slow-to-talk toddlers (scoring ≤20th percentile on a parent-reported expressive vocabulary checklist) were invited to take part in a 15-min free-play video of mother-child interaction at 2:0 years. Each free-play video was rated for maternal responsiveness using a five-point global rating scale, where 1 is 'very low' responsiveness and 5 is 'very high' responsiveness. Language skills were measured at 3:0 years using PLS-4 and at 4:0 years using the CELF-P2.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In adjusted linear regression models (potential confounders: gender, maternal education, socioeconomic status) maternal responsiveness strongly predicted receptive, expressive and total language standard scores at ages 3 (coefficient = 5.9, p < 0.001; coefficient = 5.4, p < 0.001; coefficient = 6.2, p < 0.001, respectively) and 4 years (coefficient = 4.6, p < 0.001; coefficient = 3.1, p = 0.004; coefficient = 4.0, p < 0.001, respectively).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Slow-to-talk toddlers of mothers with higher global ratings of responsiveness have higher language scores at 3 and 4 years of age. This global measure of maternal responsiveness could be further developed as a clinical tool for identifying which slow-to-talk toddlers are most in need of early intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Audiology and Speech Pathology, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hudson
authors.forename: Penny
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Levickis
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Down
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nicholls
authors.forename: Melissa
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wake
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007805:Language Development Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology*; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D008297:Male; D008425:Maternal Behavior; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D011610:Psychosocial Deprivation; D012307:Risk Factors; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014705:Verbal Behavior; D014739:Victoria; D014741:Video Recording
keywords: language development; longitudinal; mother-child interaction; paediatric; responsiveness