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
Citation
Law, J., Rush, R. & McBean, K. (2014-01) 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, Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties, vol. 19, pp. 28-40.
Abstract
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