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The relation of joint engagement and sustained attention to gender, context, and language development: a longitudinal study

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Date Issued:
2015
Summary:
The present study investigated the relation of children’s attentional behaviors to context, gender, and their language skills. Participants were 33 children and their parents. The following attentional behaviors were measured based on coding of video recordings of 30-minute free-play interactions at 30 months: time spent in engaged states (attending to an object, person, or event) and frequency of changes from one engagement state to another. Children’s productive vocabulary and language comprehension were measured using standardized tests at 30, 36, and 42 months. Males spent more time in joint engagement and switched engagement states less frequently. Children spent more time engaged during Animal and Picnic toy play than Book reading. Children attended longer to picnic-related objects than animal-related objects or books, and attended longer to animal- related objects than books. Longer sustained attention—measured as lower frequencies of state switches—was related to higher concurrent and future language comprehension scores.
Title: The relation of joint engagement and sustained attention to gender, context, and language development: a longitudinal study.
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Name(s): Welsh, Stephanie N., author
Hoff, Erika, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Department of Psychology
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2015
Date Issued: 2015
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 60 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: The present study investigated the relation of children’s attentional behaviors to context, gender, and their language skills. Participants were 33 children and their parents. The following attentional behaviors were measured based on coding of video recordings of 30-minute free-play interactions at 30 months: time spent in engaged states (attending to an object, person, or event) and frequency of changes from one engagement state to another. Children’s productive vocabulary and language comprehension were measured using standardized tests at 30, 36, and 42 months. Males spent more time in joint engagement and switched engagement states less frequently. Children spent more time engaged during Animal and Picnic toy play than Book reading. Children attended longer to picnic-related objects than animal-related objects or books, and attended longer to animal- related objects than books. Longer sustained attention—measured as lower frequencies of state switches—was related to higher concurrent and future language comprehension scores.
Identifier: FA00004419 (IID)
Degree granted: Thesis (M.A.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2015.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Child development
Communicative competence in children
Language acquisition -- Parent participation
Verbal ability in children
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Links: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004419
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004419
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author, with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.