Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The Role of Language Skill in Child Psychopathology: Implications for Intervention in the Early Years

  • Published:
Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this narrative review, we suggest that children’s language skill should be targeted in clinical interventions for children with emotional and behavioral difficulties in the preschool years. We propose that language skill predicts childhood emotional and behavioral problems and this relationship may be mediated by children’s self-regulation and emotion understanding skills. In the first sections, we review recent high-quality longitudinal studies which together demonstrate that that children’s early language skill predicts: (1) emotional and behavioral problems, and this relationship is stronger than the reverse pattern; (2) self-regulation skill; this pattern may be stronger than the reverse pattern but moderated by child age. Findings also suggest that self-regulation skill mediates the relation between early language skill and children’s emotional and behavioral problems. There is insufficient evidence regarding the mediating role of emotion understanding. In subsequent sections, we review evidence demonstrating that: (1) particular kinds of developmentally targeted parent–child conversations play a vital role in the development of language skill, and (2) some current clinical interventions, directly or indirectly, have a beneficial impact on children’s vocabulary and narrative skills, but most approaches are ad hoc. Targeting language via parent–child conversation has the potential to improve the outcomes of current clinical interventions in the preschool years.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Astington, J. W., & Baird, J. A. (2005). Why language matters for theory of mind. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Ayoub, C., Vallotton, C. D., & Mastergeorge, A. M. (2011). Developmental pathways to integrated social skills: The roles of parenting and early intervention. Child Development, 82(2), 583–600.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bagner, D. M., Garcia, D., & Hill, R. (2016). Direct and indirect effects of behavioral parent training on infant language production. Behavior Therapy, 47, 184–197.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bao, L., Brownlie, E. B., & Beitchman, J. H. (2016). Mental health trajectories from adolescence to adulthood: Language disorder and other childhood and adolescent risk factors. Development and Psychopathology, 28(02), 489–504.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beck, L., Kumschick, I. R., Eid, M., & Klann-Delius, G. (2012). Relationship between language competence and emotional competence in middle childhood. Emotion, 12(3), 503–514.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Beichtman, J. H., Brownlie, E. G., & Bao, J. (2014). Age 31 mental health outcomes of childhood language and speech disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(10), 1102–1110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benner, G. J., Nelson, J. R., & Epstein, M. H. (2002). Language skills of children with EBD a literature review. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 10(1), 43–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blair, C., & Razza, R. P. (2007). Relating effortful control, executive function, and false belief understanding to emerging math and literacy ability in kindergarten. Child Development, 78(2), 647–663.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Blankson, A. N., O’Brien, M., Leerkes, E. M., Marcovitch, S., Calkins, S. D., & Weaver, J. M. (2013). Developmental dynamics of emotion and cognition processes in preschoolers. Child Development, 84(1), 346–360.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bohlmann, N. L., Maier, M. F., & Palacios, N. (2015). Bidirectionality in self-regulation and expressive vocabulary: Comparisons between monolingual and dual language learners in preschool. Child Development, 86(4), 1094–1111.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C. S., & Putnick, D. L. (2016). Long-term stability of core language skill in children with contrasting language skills. Developmental Psychology, 52(5), 704–716.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C. S., & Suwalsky, J. T. D. (2013). Language and internalizing and externalizing behavioral adjustment: Developmental pathways from childhood to adolescence. Development and Psychopathology, 25(03), 857–878.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Brownell, K. M. D., Ekuma, O., Nickel, N. C., Chartier, M., Koseva, I., & Santos, R. G. (2016). A population-based analysis of factors that predict early language and cognitive development. Early Childhood Quarterly, 35, 6–18.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brumariu, L. E., & Kerns, K. A. (2015). Mother-child emotion communication and childhood anxiety symptoms. Cognition and Emotion, 29(3), 416–431.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cantwell, D. P., & Baker, L. (1987). Clinical significance of children with a language impairment: Perspectives from a longitudinal study. Journal of Child Neurology, 2, 257–264.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Carpendale, J., & Lewis, C. (2006). How children develop social understanding. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chang, H., Shaw, D. S., Dishion, T. J., Gardner, F., & Wilson, M. N. (2015). Proactive parenting and child’s effortful control: Mediating role of language and direct intervention effects. Social Development, 24(1), 201–223.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clegg, J., Law, J., Rush, R., Peters, T. J., & Roulstone, S. (2015). The contribution of early language development to children’s emotional and behavioral functioning at 6 years: An analysis of data from the children in focus sample from the ALSPAC birth cohort. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 56(1), 67–75.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, H. J. (2001). Language impairment and psychopathology in infants, children and adolescents. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conti-Ramsden, G. (2013). Commentary: Increased risk of later emotional and behavioural problems in children with SLI—reflections on Yew and O’kearney (2013). Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(5), 525–526.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Cristofaro, T. N., & Tamis-LeMonda, C. S. (2012). Mother-child conversations at 36 months and at pre-kindergarten: Relations to children’s school readiness. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 12(1), 68–97.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Davis, P. E., Meins, E., & Fernyhough, C. (2013). Individual differences in children’s private speech: The role of imaginary companions. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 116(3), 561–571.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Demir, Ö. E., Rowe, M. L., Heller, G., Goldin-Meadow, S., & Levine, S. C. (2015). Vocabulary, syntax, and narrative development in typically developing children and children with early unilateral brain injury: Early parental talk about the ‘there-and-then’ matters. Developmental Psychology, 51(2), 161–175.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Denham, S. A., Bassett, H. H., Way, E., Mincic, M., Zinsser, K., & Graling, K. (2012). Preschoolers’ emotion knowledge: Self-regulatory foundations, and predictions of early school success. Cognition and Emotion, 26(4), 667–679.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Denham, S. A., Blair, K. A., DeMulder, E., Levitas, J., Sawyer, K., Auerbach-Major, S., et al. (2003). Preschool emotional competence: Pathway to social competence. Child Development, 74(1), 238–256.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Denham, S. A., Caverly, S., Schmidt, M., Blair, K., DeMulder, E., Caal, S., et al. (2002). Preschool understanding of emotions: Contributions to classroom anger and aggression. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 43(7), 901–916.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dishion, T. J., Brennan, L. M., Shaw, D. S., McEachern, A. D., Wilson, M. N., et al. (2014). Prevention of problem behavior through annual family check-ups in early childhood: Intervention effects from home to early elementary school. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 42(3), 343–354.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Dougherty, L. R., Leppert, K. A., Merwin, S. M., Smith, V. C., Bufferd, S. J., & Kushner, M. R. (2015). Advances and directions in preschool mental health research. Child Development Perspectives, 9, 14–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Duckworth, A. L., & Steinberg, L. (2015). Unpacking self-control. Child Development, 9(1), 32–37.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, J., Brown, J., & Beardsall, L. (1991). Family talk about feeling states and children’s later understanding of others’ emotions. Developmental Psychology, 27(3), 448–455.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ensor, R., Spencer, D., & Hughes, C. (2011). ‘You feel sad?’ Emotion understanding mediates effects of verbal ability and mother–child mutuality on prosocial behaviors: Findings from 2 years to 4 years. Social Development, 20(1), 93–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fernald, A., Marchman, V. A., & Weisleder, A. (2013). SES differences in language processing skill and vocabulary are evident at 18 months. Developmental Science, 16(2), 234–248.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fivush, R., Haden, C. A., & Reese, E. (2006). Elaborating on elaborations: Role of maternal reminiscing style in cognitive and socioemotional development. Child Development, 77(6), 1568–1588.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fivush, R., Hazzard, A., McDermott Sales, J., Sarfati, D., & Brown, T. (2003). Creating coherence out of chaos? Children’s narratives of emotionally positive and negative events. Applied Cognitive Psychology, 17(1), 1–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fuhs, M. W., & Day, J. D. (2011). Verbal ability and executive functioning development in preschoolers at head start. Developmental Psychology, 47(2), 404–416.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ganea, P. A., & Saylor, M. (2013). Representational constraints on language development: Thinking and learning about absent things. Child Development Perspectives, 7(4), 227–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Garcia, D., Bagner, D. M., Pruden, S. M., & Nichols-Lopez, K. (2015). Language production in children with and at risk for delay: Mediating role of parenting skills. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 44(5), 814–825.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gatzke-Kopp, L., Greenberg, M. T., Fortunato, C. K., & Coccia, M. A. (2012). Aggression as an equifinal outcome of distinct neurocognitive and neuroaffective processes. Development and Psychopathology, 24(3), 985–1002.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Girard, L.-C., Pingault, J.-B., Doyle, O., Falissard, B., & Tremblay, R. E. (2015). Developmental associations between conduct problem and expressive language in early childhood: A population-based study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology,. doi:10.1007/s10802-015-0094-8.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Goldin-Meadow, S., Levine, S. C., Hedges, L. V., Huttenlocher, J., Raudenbush, S. W., & Small, S. L. (2014). New evidence about language and cognitive development based on a longitudinal study. American Psychologist, 69(6), 5588–5599.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gridley, N., Hutchings, J., & Baker-Henningham, H. (2015). The incredible years Parent-Toddler programme and parental language: A randomised controlled trial. Child: Care, Health and Development, 41(1), 103–111.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hart, B., & Risley, T. R. (1995). Meaningful differences in the everyday experience of young American children. Baltimore: Paul H Brookes Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hindman, A. H., Wasik, B. A., & Snell, E. K. (2016). Closing the 30 million word gap: Next steps in designing research to inform practice. Child Development Perspectives, 10(2), 134–139.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hirsh-Pasek, K., Adamson, L. B., Bakeman, R., Owen, M. T., Golinkoff, R. M., Pace, A., et al. (2015). The contribution of early communication quality to low-income children’s language success. Psychological Science, 26(7), 1071–1083.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Developmental Review, 26(1), 55–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holodynski, M., & Freidlmeier, W. (2005). Development of emotions and their regulation: An internalization model. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hudson, J. A., & Shapiro, L. R. (1991). From knowing to telling: The development of children’s scripts, stories, and personal narratives. In A. McCabe & C. Peterson (Eds.), Developing narrative structure (pp. 89–136). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Izard, C. E., King, K. A., Trentacosta, C. J., Morgan, J. K., Laurenceau, J.-P., Krauthamer-Ewing, E. S., et al. (2008). Accelerating the development of emotion competence in Head Start children: Effects on adaptive and maladaptive behavior. Development and Psychopathology, 20(01), 369–397.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kaderavek, J. N., & Sulzby, E. (2000). Narrative production by children with and without specific language impairment: Oral narratives and emergent readings. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research, 43(1), 34–49.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuebli, J., Butler, S., & Fivush, R. (1995). Mother-child talk about past emotions: Relations of maternal language and child gender over time. Cognition and Emotion, 9(2–3), 265–283.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, L. J., Willoughby, M. T., Vernon-Feagans, L., Blair, C. B., & The Family Life Project Key Investigators. (2016). The contribution of children’s time-specific and longitudinal expressive language skills on developmental trajectories of executive function. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 148, 20–34.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kuhn, L. J., Willoughby, M. T., Wilbourn, M. P., Vernon-Feagans, L., & Blair, C. B. (2014). Early communicative gestures prospectively predict language development and executive function in early childhood. Child Development, 85(5), 1898–1914.

    PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Laible, D., Panfile Murphy, T., & Augustine, M. (2013). Constructing emotional and relational understanding: The role of mother–child reminiscing about negatively valenced events. Social Development, 22(2), 300–318.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leffel, K., & Suskind, D. (2013). Parent-directed approaches to enrich the early language environments of children living in poverty. Seminars in Speech and Language, 34(4), 267–278.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Leyva, D., Berrocal, M., & Nolivos, V. (2014). Spanish-speaking parent–child emotional narratives and children’s social skills. Journal of Cognition and Development, 15(1), 22–42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leyva, D., & Nolivos, V. (2015). Chilean family reminiscing about emotions and its relation to children’s self-regulation skills. Early Education and Development, 26, 770–791.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leyva, D., Sparks, A., & Reese, E. (2012). The link between preschoolers’ phonological awareness and mothers’ book-reading and reminiscing practices in low-income families. Journal of Literacy Research, 44(4), 426–447.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lieven, E., & Stoll, S. (2014). Language. In M. H. Bornstein (Ed.), Handbook of cultural developmental science (pp. 143–160). New York: Psychology Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lohmann, H., & Tomasello, M. (2003). The role of language in the development of false belief understanding: A training study. Child Development, 74(4), 1130–1144.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lougheed, J. P., Hollenstein, T., Lichtwarck-Aschoff, A., & Granic, I. (2015). Maternal regulation of child affect in externalizing and typically-developing children. Journal of Family Psychology, 29(1), 10–19.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lunkenheimer, E. S., Dishion, T. J., Shaw, D. S., Connell, A. M., Gardner, F., & Wilson, M. N. (2008). Collateral benefits of the family check-up on early childhood school readiness: Indirect effects of parents’ positive behavior support. Developmental Psychology, 44(6), 1737–1752.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lupyan, G. (2015). The centrality of language in human cognition. Language Learning, 65(1), 1–38.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mandy, W., Skuse, D., Steer, C., St Pourcain, B., & Oliver, B. R. (2013). Oppositionality and socioemotional competence: Interacting risk factors in the development of childhood conduct disorder symptoms. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 52(7), 718–727.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Masten, A. S., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). Developmental cascades. Development and Psychopathology, 22(3), 491–495.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Menting, B., Van Lier, P. A. C., & Koot, H. M. (2011). Language skills, peer rejection, and the development of externalizing behavior from kindergarten to fourth grade. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 52, 72–79.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Merz, E. C., Zucker, T. A., Landry, S. H., Williams, J. M., Assel, M., et al. (2015). Parenting predictors of cognitive skills and emotion knowledge in socioeconomically disadvantaged preschoolers. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 132, 14–31.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Milligan, K., Astington, J. W., & Dack, L. A. (2007). Language and theory of mind: Meta-analysis of the relation between language ability and false belief understanding. Child Development, 78, 622–646.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miranda, A. E., McCabe, A., & Bliss, L. S. (1998). Jumping around and leaving things out: A profile of the narrative abilities of children with specific language impairment. Applied Psycholinguistics, 19(4), 647–667.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moffitt, T. E., Arseneault, L., Belsky, D., Dickson, N., Hanxon, R. J., Harrington, H. L., et al. (2011). A gradient of childhood self-control predicts health, wealth, and public safety. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 108(7), 2693–2698.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Morgan, P. L., Farkas, G., Hillemeier, M. M., Hammer, C. S., & Maczuga, S. (2015). 24-month-old children with larger oral vocabularies display greater academic and behavioral functioning at kindergarten entry. Child Development, 86(5), 1351–1370.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Muller, U., Zelazo, P. D., Lurye, L. E., & Liebermann, D. P. (2008). The effect of labeling on preschool children’s performance in the dimensional change card sort task. Cognitive Development, 23, 395–408.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, K. (1996). Language in cognitive development: Emergence of the mediated mind. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, K. (2007). Young minds in social worlds: Experience, meaning, and memory. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nelson, K. E., Welsh, J. A., Trup, E. M. V., & Greenberg, M. T. (2011). Language delays of impoverished preschool children in relation to early academic and emotion recognition skills. First Language, 31(2), 164–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • O’Kearney, R., & Dadds, M. R. (2005). Language for emotions in adolescents with externalizing and internalizing disorders. Development and Psychopathology, 17, 529–548.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, I. T., Bates, J. E., D’Onofrio, B. M., Coyne, C. A., Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., et al. (2013). Language ability predicts the development of behavior problems in children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 122(2), 542–557.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Petersen, I. T., Bates, J. E., & Staples, A. D. (2015). The role of language ability and self-regulation in the development of inattentive-hyperactive behavior problems. Development and Psychology, 27, 221–237.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., Jesso, B., & McCabe, A. (1999). Encouraging narratives in preschoolers: An intervention study. Journal of Child Language, 26(01), 49–67.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Peterson, C., & McCabe, A. (1983). Developmental psycholinguistics: Three ways of looking at a child’s narrative. New York: Plenum Press.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Pons, F., Lawson, J., Harris, P. L., & De Rosnay, M. (2003). Individual differences in children’s emotion understanding: Effects of age and language. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 44(4), 347–353.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Raikes, H. A., & Thompson, R. A. (2008). Conversations about emotion in high-risk dyads. Attachment and Human Development, 10(4), 359–377.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Reese, E., Bird, A., & Tripp, G. (2007). Children’s self-esteem and moral self: Links to parent–child conversations regarding emotion. Social Development, 16(3), 460–478.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reese, E., Haden, C. A., Baker-Ward, L., Bauer, P., Fivush, R., & Ornstein, P. A. (2011). Coherence of personal narratives across the lifespan: A multidimensional model and coding method. Journal of Cognition and Development, 12(4), 424–462.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Reese, E., Leyva, D., Sparks, A., & Grolnick, W. (2010). Maternal elaborative reminiscing increases low-income children’s narrative skills relative to dialogic reading. Early Education and Development, 21(3), 318–342.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reese, E., & Newcombe, R. (2007). Training mothers in elaborative reminiscing enhances children’s autobiographical memory and narrative. Child Development, 78(4), 1153–1170.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Roben, C. K. P., Cole, P. M., & Armstrong, L. M. (2013). Longitudinal relations among language skills, anger expression, and regulatory strategies in early childhood. Child Development, 84(3), 891–905.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, M. L. (2012). A longitudinal investigation of the role of quantity and quality of child-directed speech in vocabulary development. Child Development, 83(5), 1762–1774.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, M. L. (2013). Decontextualized language input and preschoolers’ vocabulary development. Seminars in Speech and Language, 34(04), 260–266.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rowe, M. L. (2015). Input versus intake: A commentary on Ambridge, Kidd, Rowland, and Theakson’s ‘The ubiquity of frequency effects in first language acquisition’. Journal of Child Language, 42(2), 2–6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon, K. (in press). Construction of personal memories via parent-child reminiscing conversations: Implications for our understanding of psychopathology. In M. Meade, A. Barnier, P. Van Bergen, C. Harris, & J. Sutton (Eds.), Collaborative remembering: How remembering with others influences memory. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

  • Salmon, K., Dadds, M., Allen, J., & Hawes, D. (2009). Can emotional language skills be taught during parent training for conduct problem children? Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 40(4), 485–498.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon, K., Dittman, C., Sanders, M., Burson, R., & Hammington, J. (2014). Does adding an emotion component enhance the Triple P-Positive parenting program? Journal of Family Psychology, 28(2), 244–252.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon, K., Evans, I. M., Moskowitz, S., Grouden, M., Parkes, F., & Miller, E. (2013). The components of young children’s emotion knowledge: Which are enhanced by adult emotion talk? Social Development, 22(1), 94–110.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Salmon, K., & Reese, E. (2016). The benefits of reminiscing with children about the past. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 25(4), 233–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sanders, M. R. (2012). Development, evaluation, and multinational dissemination of the Triple P-Positive parenting program. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 8, 345–379.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Schick, A., & Melzi, G. (2010). The development of children’s oral narratives across contexts. Early Education and Development, 21(3), 293–317.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shaw, D. S., & Shelleby, E. C. (2014). Early-onset conduct problems: Intersection of conduct problems and poverty. Annual Review of Clinical Psychology, 10, 503–528.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Shonkoff, J. P., & Fisher, P. A. (2013). Rethinking evidence-based practice and two-generation programs to create the future of early childhood policy. Development and Psychopathology, 25, 1635–1653.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sparks, A., & Reese, E. (2013). From reminiscing to reading: Home contributions to children’s developing language and literacy in low-income families. First Language, 33(1), 89–109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suskind, D. L., Leffel, K. R., Graf, E., Hernandez, E. A., Gunderson, S. G., Sapolich, E. S., et al. (2015). A parent-directed language intervention for children of low socioeconomic status: a randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of Child Language, 43(02), 366–406.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabors, P. O., Roach, K. A., & Snow, C. E. (2001). Home language and literacy environment: Final results. In D. K. Dickinson & P. O. Tabors (Eds.), Beginning literacy with language: Young children learning at home and school (pp. 111–138). Baltimore, MD: Paul H Brookes Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tempel, A. B., Wagner, S. M., & McNeil, C. B. (2009). Parent-child interaction therapy and language facilitation: The role of parent-training on language development. The Journal of Speech and Language Pathology: Applied Behavior Analysis, 3(2–3), 216–232.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, R., & Zimmer-Gembeck, M. (2007). Behavioral outcomes of parent-child interaction therapy and triple P-positive parenting program: A review and meta-analysis. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35(3), 475–495.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Tomasello, M. (2003). Constructing a language: A usage-based theory of language acquisition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Toppelberg, C. O. (2014). Do language disorders in childhood seal the mental health fate of grownups? Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 53(10), 1050–1052.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Topping, K., Dekhinet, R., & Zeedyk, S. (2013). Parent–infant interaction and children’s language development. Educational Psychology, 33(4), 391–426.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Trentacosta, C. J., & Fine, S. E. (2010). Emotion knowledge, social competence, and behavior problems in childhood and adolescence: A meta-analytic review. Social Development, 19(1), 1–29.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Valentino, K., Comas, M., Nuttall, A. K., & Thomas, T. (2013). Training maltreating parents in elaborative and emotion-rich reminiscing with their preschool-aged children. Child Abuse and Neglect, 37(8), 585–595.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Valentino, K., Hibel, L. C., Cummings, E. M., Nuttall, A. K., Comas, M., & O’Donnell, C. G. (2015). Maternal elaborative reminiscing mediates the effect of child maltreatment on behavioral and physiological functioning. Development and Psychopathology, 27, 1515–1526.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Vallotton, C., & Ayoub, C. (2011). Use your words: The role of language in the development of toddlers’ self-regulation. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 26(2), 169–181.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Van Bergen, P., & Salmon, K. (2010). Emotion-oriented reminiscing and children’s recall of a novel event. Cognition and Emotion, 24(6), 991–1007.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Van Bergen, P., Salmon, K., Dadds, M. R., & Allen, J. (2009). The effects of mother training in emotion-rich, elaborative reminiscing on children’s shared recall and emotion knowledge. Journal of Cognition and Development, 10(3), 162–187.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • van Daal, J., Verhoeven, L., & van Balkom, H. (2007). Behaviour problems in children with language impairment. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 48, 1139–1147.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wareham, P., & Salmon, K. (2006). Mother-child reminiscing about everyday experiences: Implications for clinical interventions in the preschool years. Clinical Psychology Review, 26, 535–554.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Webster-Stratton, C. (2005). The incredible years: A training series for the prevention and treatment of conduct problems in young children. Psychosocial treatments for child and adolescent disorders: Empirically based strategies for clinical practice (2nd ed., pp. 507–555). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Weisleder, A., & Fernald, A. (2013). Talking to children matters: Early language experience strengths processing and builds vocabulary. Psychological Science, 24(11), 2143–2152.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wetherell, D., Botting, N., & Conti-Ramsden, G. (2007). Narrative in adolescent specific language impairment (SLI): A comparison with peers across two different narrative genres. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 42(5), 583–605.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Widen, S. C., & Russell, J. A. (2010). Children’s scripts for social emotions: Causes and consequences are more central than are facial expressions. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 28(3), 565–581.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yew, S. G. K., & O’Kearney, R. (2013). Emotional and behavioural outcomes later in childhood and adolescence for children with specific language impairments: Meta-analyses of controlled prospective studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 54(5), 516–524.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yew, G. S., & O’Kearney, R. (2015a). Early language impairments and the developmental pathways of emotional problems across childhood. International Journal of Language and Communication Disorders, 50(3), 358–373.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Yew, G. S., & O’Kearney, R. (2015b). The role of early language difficulties in the trajectory of conduct problems cross childhood. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 43, 1515–1525.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zadeh, Z., Im-Bolter, N., & Cohen, N. (2007). Social cognition and externalizing psychopathology: An Investigation of the mediating role of language. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 35(2), 141–152.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zelazo, P. D., & Frye, D. (1998). Cognitive complexity and control: II. the development of executive function in childhood. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 7(4), 121–126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zelazo, P. D., Reznick, J. S., & Piñon, D. E. (1995). Response control and the execution of verbal rules. Developmental Psychology, 31(3), 508–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zhou, Q., Chen, S. H., & Main, A. (2012). Commonalities and differences in the research on children’s effortful control and executive function: A call for an integrated model of self-regulation. Child Development Perspectives, 6(2), 112–121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington, Kelburn Parade, PO Box 600, Wellington, 6012, New Zealand

    Karen Salmon & Clare-Ann Fortune

  2. Research School of Psychology, The Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

    Richard O’Kearney

  3. Department of Psychology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Elaine Reese

Authors
  1. Karen Salmon
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Richard O’Kearney
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Elaine Reese
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Clare-Ann Fortune
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Karen Salmon.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Ethical Standards

Where studies conducted by the authors are reported in this review, all procedures were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained for all individual participants in those studies.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Salmon, K., O’Kearney, R., Reese, E. et al. The Role of Language Skill in Child Psychopathology: Implications for Intervention in the Early Years. Clin Child Fam Psychol Rev 19, 352–367 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-016-0214-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-016-0214-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation