ABSTRACT

Research Findings: Multiple factors likely influence the language development of young children growing up in low-income homes, potentially including stressors experienced by parents. Here, we ask: (1) What is the association between stress (i.e., economic hardship and parenting stress) and toddlers’ language development? and (2) Does number of hours spent in nonparental childcare moderate the relation between stress (i.e., economic hardship and parenting stress) and toddlers’ language development? Participants were 100 mother-child dyads participating in a longitudinal study when children were 0 to 24 months of age. Results showed a significant interaction between hours spent in nonparental childcare and parenting stress when predicting language growth: when parenting stress was high, childcare hours showed a positive relation with language growth; on the contrary, when parenting stress was low, the relation between childcare hours and language growth showed a negative tendency. Conversely, economic hardship did not predict language growth. Practice or Policy: These findings suggest that one potential approach to facilitate language development for low-income children is to help high-stress families secure early years childcare. Furthermore, programs to reduce parenting stress may help to promote children’s language growth, especially when families are not using nonparental care.

摘要

研究成果：多种因素可能会影响在低收入家庭长大的幼儿的语言发展，其中可能包括父母经历的压力。在这里，我们要问：（1）压力（即经济困难和养育压力）与幼儿语言发展之间有什么关联？(2) 在非父母照顾儿童中花费的时间是否会调节压力（即经济困难和养育压力）与幼儿语言发展之间的关系？参与者是 100 名母子，参与一项纵向研究，儿童年龄为 0 至 24 个月。结果显示，在预测语言发展时，非父母育儿时间与养育压力之间存在显着的交互作用：当养育压力高时，育儿时间与语言发展呈正相关；当养育压力高时，育儿时间与语言发展呈正相关。相反，当养育压力较低时，育儿时间与语言发展之间的关系呈现负向趋势。相反，经济困难并不能预示语言的增长。实践或政策：这些发现表明，促进低收入儿童语言发展的一种潜在方法是帮助高压力家庭获得早期托儿服务。此外，减轻养育压力的计划可能有助于促进儿童语言的发展，特别是当家庭不使用非父母照顾时。