Browsing by Person "McBean, K."

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Communication skills in a population of primary school-aged children raised in an area of pronounced social disadvantage
(Informa Healthcare, 2011-11) Law, J.; McBean, K.; Rush, R.
Background: Previous studies have highlighted the level of communication difficulty experienced by children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, but the pattern of difficulties remains unclear. Aims: The study asks whether the performance of a community sample of children from one of the most socially disadvantaged neighbourhoods in Scotland is best characterized by a general delay in all areas of development, by difficulties across the more formal structural aspects of language or in phonological skills. Methods & Procedures: The study included 138 monolingual English-speaking children: 63 (45.7%) boys and 75 (54.3%) girls aged between 5 and 12 years. All children were assessed blind to educational attainment in the school. Outcomes & Results: Nearly 40% of children had delayed language development with 10% having severe difficulties. The children presented with an uneven profile with much lower structural language scores than reading, general communication skills or non-verbal performance. Although service use was high in the group as a whole, the proportion who met criteria for specific language impairment on discrepancy criteria were not those who were being referred to speech and language therapy. Conclusions & Implications: Although many children were performing well within the normal range, a substantial proportion were not, having considerable implications for the way that services are delivered to these children. Given the high prevalence of delayed structural language difficulties in this group, there is a clear need for a more universal population-based approaches to service delivery.
The relative roles played by structural and pragmatic language skills in relation to behaviour in a population of primary school children from socially disadvantaged backgrounds
(Taylor & Francis (Routledge), 2014-01) Law, James; Rush, Robert; McBean, K.
Considerable evidence supports the association between language learning difficulties and behaviour in young children and this is likely to be particularly true of children raised in social disadvantage. Less is known about the way that different aspects of language, specifically pragmatics, interact with behaviour. This study examines the extent to which pragmatic language skills mediate the relationship between structural language skills and parent report of behaviour. It was carried out with 138 community ascertained monolingual English speaking primary school children raised in an area of marked social disadvantage. We found that pragmatic skills substantially mediate the relationship between language and behaviour in this group of children. Further analyses suggest that the mediational relationship holds for hyperactivity, peer related problems and overall impact score but not for emotional problems, conduct problems or pro-social behaviour. Pragmatic language skills underpin the relationship between language and behaviour in low SES (socio-economic status) children. This is specifically true for children exhibited signs of hyperactivity, peer problems and the perceived impact that these may have on the classroom teacher, parents and other children. These findings need to be replicated in both comparable and different populations but, if the relationship holds, it is likely to have considerable implications for the development of valid and effective interventions in this area. Furthermore they may lead to a more differentiated approach to behavioural difficulties. Keywords: child; structural language skills; pragmatic