Children's Vocabulary Development : The role of parental input, vocabulary composition and early communicative skills

The aim of this thesis is to examine the early vocabulary development of a sample of Swedish children in relation to parental input and early communicative skills. Three studies are situated in an overall description of early language development in children. The data analyzed in the thesis was collected within a larger project at Stockholm University (SPRINT- “Effects of enhanced parental input on young children’s vocabulary development and subsequent literacy development” [VR 2008-5094]). Data analysis was based on parental report via SECDI, the Swedish version of the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories, and audio recordings. One study examined parental verbal interaction characteristics in three groups of children with varying vocabulary size at 18 months. The stability of vocabulary development at 18 and 24 months was investigated in a larger study, with focus on children’s vocabulary composition and grammatical abilities. The third study examined interrelations among early gestures, receptive and productive vocabulary, and grammar measured with M3L, i.e. three longest utterances, from 12 to 30 months. Overall results of the thesis highlight the importance of early language development. Variability in different characteristics in parental input is associated with variability in child vocabulary size. Children with large early vocabularies exhibit the most stability in vocabulary composition and the earliest grammatical development. Children’s vocabulary composition may reflect individual stylistic variation. Use of early gestures is associated differentially with receptive and productive vocabulary. Results of the thesis have implications for parents, child- and healthcare personnel, as well as researchers and educational practitioners. The results underscore the importance of high quality in adult-child interaction, with rich input fine-tuned to children’s developmental levels and age, together with high awareness of early language development.

Livskvalitet i familier : nære relasjoners betydning for ”det gode liv”

Life quality in families: close relations and “the good life” The aim of this paper is to explore how aspects and qualities of modern family life influence subjective well-being. Although the patterns of family, work and sexuality have changed dramatically the last four decades, it is here claimed that the family is still an important base of socialization and upbringing. Thus the study of processes within the family can contribute to the understanding of the environment in which many children grow up. In most families, work, partner and family roles are intertwined, and one central hypothesis of this work is that family members influence each other in the individual formation of well-being. The main research question of this study asks: How is life quality affected by the quality of parent-child and the partner relationships and aspects of their shared everyday life? Empirical implications are tested against 2002-data from a representative, Norwegian sample. Analyses conclude that the quality of parent-child and the spousal relationship, and also aspects of families’ everyday life such as work-life balance and time pressure influence the subjective life quality, but mother’s and father’s life quality is affected by differing and partly incompatible conditions.