Browsing by Person "Parsons, Samantha"

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Childhood language skills and adult literacy: A 29-year follow-up study
(American Academy of Pediatrics, 2010-03-01) Schoon, Ingrid; Parsons, Samantha; Rush, Robert; Law, James
OBJECTIVES: Our aim was to assess the longitudinal trajectory of childhood receptive language skills and early influences on the course of language development. METHODS: Drawing on data collected for a nationally representative British birth cohort, the 1970 British Cohort Study, we examined the relationship between directly assessed early receptive language ability, family background, housing conditions, early literacy environment, and adult literacy skills. A sample of 11 349 cohort members who completed the English Picture Vocabulary Test at 5 years of age were studied again at 34 years of age, when they completed a direct assessment of their basic literacy skills. We contrasted experiences of individuals with language problems at age 5 against the experiences of those with normal language skills at that age, assessing the role of socioeconomic family background and early literacy environment in influencing the longitudinal course of developmental language problems. Statistical comparisons of rates with 2 tests at P values of .001, .01, and .05 were made, as well as multivariate logistic regressions. RESULTS: Cohort members with receptive language problems at age 5 had a relatively disadvantaged home life in childhood, both in terms of socioeconomic resources and the education level of their parents, but also regarding their exposure to a stimulating early literacy environment. Although there is significant risk for poor adult literacy among children with early language problems, the majority of these children develop competent functional literacy levels by the age of 34. Factors that reduce the risk for persistent language problems include the child being born into a working family, parental education beyond minimum school-leaving age, advantageous housing conditions, and preschool attendance. CONCLUSION: Effective literacy-promoting interventions provided by pediatric primary care providers should target both children and parents. Copyright 2010 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The relationship between gender, receptive vocabulary and literacy from school entry through to adulthood
(2013-08) Law, James; Rush, Robert; Parsons, Samantha; Schoon, Ingrid
It is commonly assumed that boys have poorer language skills than girls but this assumption is largely based on studies with small, clinical samples or focussing on expressive language skills. This study examines the relationship between gender and receptive vocabulary, literacy and non-verbal performance at five years through to adulthood. The participants were UK birth cohort of 11, 349 children born in one week in March 1970. Logistic regression models were employed to examine the association of gender with language and literacy at 5 and 34 years. Non-verbal abilities were comparable at five years but there were significant differences for both receptive vocabulary and reading, favouring the boys and the girls respectively. Boys but not girls who had parents who were poor readers were more likely to be not reading at five years. Gender was not associated with adulthood literacy. Boys may have a slight advantage over girls in terms of their receptive vocabulary raising questions about the skills tested and the characteristics of clinical populations. The findings are discussed in terms of the nature of the way that children are assessed and the assumptions underpinning clinical practice.