title: Socioeconomic (SES) differences in language are evident in female infants at 7months of age.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Language skills, strongly linked to academic success, are known to differ by socioeconomic status (SES), with lower SES individuals performing less well than higher SES.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To examine the effect of SES on infant language at 7months of age and the relationship between maternal vocabulary skills and infant language function. To determine if the relationships between SES and infant language are mediated by maternal vocabulary skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  Longitudinal follow-up of healthy term female African American infants born to mothers in two SES groups: Low SES (income-to-needs≤1, no education beyond high school) and Higher SES (Income-to-Needs >1, at least a high school diploma).
  
  
  METHODS
  54 infants tested at 7months of age; 54 mothers tested at infant age 7months.
  
  
  METHODS
  Preschool Language Scale-5 (PLS-5), Vocabulary and Matrix Reasoning subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Low SES infants (n=29) performed less well than Higher SES (n=25) on PLS-5 Total Language, Auditory Comprehension, and Expressive Communication (p≤0.012). Maternal Vocabulary subtest scores were lower in Low SES than Higher SES (p=0.002), but not related to infant PLS Language scores (p≥0.17). Maternal vocabulary did not mediate the relationship between SES and infant language skills at age 7months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In this single sex and race cohort of healthy, term, female infants, lower SES exerted negative effects on infant language by 7months of age. While maternal vocabulary scores showed no relation with infant language skills at 7months, continued study of the relations between SES, infant outcomes and maternal characteristics is needed to determine how low SES conditions impact early language. These findings underscore the importance of early interventions, as well as policies designed to improve socioeconomic conditions for infants and families.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th and Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States. Electronic address: betancourtl@email.chop.edu.
authors.forename: Laura M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Betancourt
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th and Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States.
authors.forename: Nancy L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Brodsky
authors.affiliation: Division of Neonatology, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, 34th and Civic Center Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104, United States.
authors.forename: Hallam
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Hurt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003142:Communication; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007802:Language; D007804:Language Development; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D009035:Mothers; D012923:Social Class; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014825:Vocabulary; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Expressive language; Infants; Poverty; Receptive language; Socioeconomic status; Vocabulary