Development of negation in bilingual Spanish/English and monolingual English speakers.

Investigated the qualitative differences in negative syntactic structures cross-sectionally across age (3–6 yrs old) with comparisons between the English constructions of 40 Spanish/English bilinguals and those of 40 matched monolingual English-speaking children. The 3 dependent measures were (a) negative-agent-verb sequence, (b) do inclusion, and (c) subject omission. Tested were two contrasting theoretical positions—contrastive analysis vs the mental organization hypothesis—related to multiple language acquisition. Results show that English monolinguals scored differently than bilinguals across the 3 dependent variables in English. There was also evidence that Spanish negative constructions were used in English negative constructions. Support for a partial transfer hypothesis is suggested in view of transference from Spanish to English. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pretend play and social play: The concurrent validity of the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment.

In play therapy, assessment is more often of children’s behavioral or social issues than children’s play ability. However, understanding children’s play ability by using a reliable and valid play assessment can add to a therapist’s understanding of the child. The aim of this study was to investigate how a child’s performance on a play assessment was related to social peer play. Children’s pretend play was assessed using the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment. Social peer play was assessed by preschool teachers completing the Penn Interactive Peer Play Scale. Fifty-three typically developing preschool children were assessed. A significant positive correlation was found between the level of a child’s elaborateness of play scores and peer play interaction. A significant negative relationship was found between a child’s ability to substitute objects and play disruption. A significant negative relationship was also found between a child’s ability to elaborate play and substitute objects with play disconnection. The results suggest that children’s social competence can be inferred from their play scores on the Child-Initiated Pretend Play Assessment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testwiseness as a factor in readiness test performance of young Mexican-American children.

Assessed the effects of training in test-taking skills on kindergarten children's performance on a school readiness test with a sample of 131 Spanish-speaking children from low socioeconomic backgrounds. Half of the Ss were trained in content-free test-taking skills, and half were provided comparable time in nondirected paper/crayon activities. All Ss were tested in both Spanish and English, with order of administration balanced. Trained Ss performed better than untrained Ss in both languages. Males were more influenced by training than were females, but overall females outperformed males. Spanish administration scores were higher than English administration scores. Order of test administration was significant in that performance in English was improved when the test was taken first in Spanish; no influence of English on subsequent performance was found. Findings support the hypothesis that test-wiseness is an important influence on test performance of young children from nonmajority backgrounds and should be taken into account in readiness assessment programs. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Growth in literacy and cognition in bilingual children at risk or not at risk for reading disabilities.

This study investigated growth in reading, vocabulary, and memory in children (ages 5 to 10) learning English as a second language identified at risk for reading disabilities (RD). A growth curve analysis showed that RD children were significantly below children not at risk in English and Spanish reading, Spanish short-term memory (STM), Spanish comprehension, and English and Spanish working memory (WM). RD children were also inferior on growth measures of English and Spanish WM and Spanish STM. Growth on measures of Spanish vocabulary, reading, STM, and WM accounted for 12% of the variance in predicting growth in English reading. However, only Spanish measures of WM growth contributed unique variance. The results show that growth in WM in the primary language predicts growth in second-language reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5 across parent race/ethnicity, income level, and language.

This study examined the equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5 (CBCL/1 1/2-5) in 682 parents of 2- to 4-year-old children stratified by parent race/ethnicity (African American, Latino, and non-Latino White), family income (low vs. middle-upper), and language version (Spanish vs. English). Externalizing Scale means differed by income and child gender. Internalizing Scale means differed by income and parent race/ethnicity. Differential item analyses showed that few items functioned differently by racial/ethnic, language, and income group. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the Externalizing Scale provided a good fit with the data across racial/ethnic and income groups. However, model fit was improved for the Internalizing Scale when factor weights were allowed to vary. Findings support the equivalence of the CBCL/1 1/2-5 when used with parents of low-income preschool children from African American and Latino backgrounds, although further study of the factor structure for the Internalizing Scale is recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental study of Spanish-English production in bilingual children.

30 Spanish–English bilingual and 30 English monolingual children aged 3–7 yrs were asked to imitate Spanish and English lexical and syntactic constructions. Lexical items contained phonemes that have been previously identified as "high risk" for monolingual speakers of Spanish or English. Therefore, specific error patterns were predictable. Sentence constructions emphasized plurality, possessiveness, and adjective–noun word order. Monolinguals and bilinguals did not significantly differ on English imitations: Both groups scored near 100% correct. As expected, bilinguals scored significantly higher than monolinguals on all Spanish tasks. Errors for both bilinguals and monolinguals on Spanish sentence tasks took the form of omissions. Results indicate that Spanish competency on tasks like these does not "handicap" similar competencies in English for bilingual children at these age levels. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Literacy and Cognitive Functioning in Bilingual and Nonbilingual Children at or Not at Risk for Reading Disabilities.

The authors determined whether the cognitive processes that underlie second-language acquisition difficulties are the same as those that underlie reading difficulties. First-grade (N = 101) bilingual and nonbilingual children were administered a battery of measures in Spanish and English. English word identification and vocabulary were predicted by a language-general working-memory (WM) factor, whereas English pseudoword reading was predicted by Spanish pseudoword reading and WM. The results also showed that (a) children proficient in language were better able to access resources from WM and (b) children with reading disabilities (RD) performed poorly on Spanish measures of short-term memory. In general, second-language difficulties are related to accessing a language-independent WM system, whereas language-specific phonological memory deficits underlie RD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early home language use and later vocabulary development.

This longitudinal study examined the association between early patterns of home language use (age 4.5 years) and vocabulary growth (ages 4.5 to 12 years) in English and Spanish for 180 Spanish-speaking language minority learners followed from ages 4.5 to 12 years. Standardized measures of vocabulary were administered to children from ages 4.5 to 12 years, and home language use was assessed via parent survey at study entry. Three predominant home language use patterns were identified: mostly Spanish, equal amounts of Spanish and English, and mostly English. Individual growth modeling results demonstrated initial English vocabulary differences between the three language groups, with the mostly English group outperforming the other two language groups. However, the rate of growth for the equal amounts and mostly Spanish groups surpassed that of the mostly English group; by age 12 years, the gaps among the 3 groups had narrowed, but participants' vocabulary skills remained below national norms. In contrast, students' patterns of Spanish vocabulary growth did not vary, resulting in parallel but widening gaps through age 12 years. Results suggest that early Spanish use in language minority learners' homes, in and of itself, does not interfere with the development of English vocabulary. However, despite their English instructional context, all learners' vocabulary knowledge was below average and the gap compared with national norms persisted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bilingual Hispanic children's performance on the English and Spanish versions of the Cognitive Assessment System.

This study compared the performance of referred bilingual Hispanic children on the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, Successive (PASS) theory as measured by English and Spanish versions of the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS; Naglieri & Das, 1997a). The results suggest that students scored similarly on both English and Spanish versions of the CAS. Within each version of the CAS, the bilingual children earned their lowest scores in Successive processing regardless of the language used during test administration. Small mean differences were noted between the means of the English and Spanish versions for the Simultaneous and Successive processing scales; however, mean Full Scale scores were similar. Specific subtests within the Simultaneous and Successive scales were found to contribute to the differences between the English and Spanish versions of the CAS. Comparisons of the children's profiles of cognitive weakness on both versions of the CAS showed that these children performed consistently despite the language difference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cross-language transfer of phonological awareness.

Investigated the factors influencing the English word identification performance of Spanish-speaking beginning readers. Beginning readers were administered tests of letter naming, Spanish phonological awareness, Spanish and English word recognition, and Spanish and English oral proficiency. Multiple-regression analyses revealed that the readers' performance on English word and pseudoword recognition tests was predicted by the levels of both Spanish phonological awareness and Spanish word recognition, thus indicating cross-language transfer. In contrast, neither English nor Spanish oral proficiency affected word-identification performance. Results suggest a specific way in which 1st-language learning and experience can aid children in the beginning stages of reading. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chlamydia trachomatis antibodies in serum and ejaculate of male patients without acute urethritis

The effectiveness of the Pediatric Symptom Checklist (PSC) as a psychosocial screening measure to meet Federal Medicaid/Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) requirements was examined in 117 low-income preschool (aged 4-5 years old) Hispanic children during well-child examinations in three clinics over an 8-month period. The PSC identified 7% of the sample as at risk for psychosocial problems. The PSC was significantly associated with parental ratings of the children's problems in functioning, with pediatric clinicians' decisions to make mental health referrals, with degrees of associations similar to those found between PSC scores, and with the same measures with school-aged children in the same clinics. Cronbach's alpha was high (r = .87) and virtually identical in English, Spanish, oral, and written formats. Although it identified a slightly lower rate of psychosocial problems in 4-5-year-olds than it had in school-aged children, the PSC appeared to provide an effective method of screening for psychosocial problems during EPSDT examinations.     

Bilingual phonological awareness: Multilevel construct validation among Spanish-speaking kindergarteners in transitional bilingual education classrooms.

The construct validity of English and Spanish phonological awareness (PA) tasks was examined with a sample of 812 kindergarten children from 71 transitional bilingual education program classrooms located in 3 different types of geographic regions in California and Texas. Tasks of PA, including blending nonwords, segmenting words, and phoneme elision, were measured in Spanish and in English and analyzed via multilevel confirmatory factor analysis at the task level. Results showed that the PA tasks defined a unitary construct at both the student and classroom levels in each language. English and Spanish PA factors were related to each other (.93 and .83 at the student and classroom levels, respectively) as well as to word reading, both within languages (correlations estimated between .74 and .93) and across languages (correlations estimated between .47 and .79). Although the PA constructs were statistically separable in each language, the high correlation between Spanish and English PA indicates considerable overlap in these abilities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between peer-play interactions in the family context and dimensions of school readiness for low-income preschool children.

Relationships between parental report of children's peer play at home and indicators of children's school readiness were examined. Behavior ratings and observational data were collected for 242 preschool children from a large urban Head Start program. Relationships between children's home-based, peer-play behaviors and 4 measures of children's classroom behaviors (i.e., school-based peer play, approaches to learning, self-regulation, and behavior problems) were analyzed using bivariate correlational and multivariate methods. Play competencies exhibited in the home environment were significantly associated with prosocial behavior in the classroom, motivation to learn, task persistence, and autonomy. Disruptive or disconnected play behaviors were significantly related to patterns of disruptive and dysregulated experiences in the classroom with peers and with the learning process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The time it takes bilinguals and monolinguals to draw pictures and write words.

In 4 experiments, picture-word translation was studied in Spanish-English bilinguals and English monolinguals. In Experiment 1, bilinguals drew pictures or wrote English or Spanish words for picture or English or Spanish word stimuli. Equivalent increases in production onset latency for cross-language/modality translation were found. In Experiment 2, bilinguals and monolinguals drew pictures or wrote English words for picture or English word stimuli. Cross-modality translation equivalence was replicated, though bilinguals were slower than monolinguals overall. In Experiment 3, bilinguals and monolinguals were equivalent when they drew or wrote names from pictures as blocked tasks. In Experiment 4, bilinguals replicated Experiment 1 but were faster for blocked than mixed tasks, indicating that stimulus-processing uncertainty slows them. Results support a revised concept mediation model, with equivalent semantic access for pictures and words for bilinguals and monolinguals (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age of learning affects rate-dependent processing of stops in a second language

The aim of this study was to assess the effect of speaking rate changes on the perception of English stop consonants by four groups of subjects: English and Spanish monolinguals, 'early' Spanish/English bilinguals who learned English in childhood, and 'late' bilinguals who learned English in adulthood. Subjects identified, and then later rated for goodness as exemplars of the English /p/ category, the members of two voice onset time (VOT) continua. The English monolinguals identified a well-defined range of VOT stimuli as English /p/, and stimuli with longer VOT values as 'exaggerated' instances of English /p/. Their goodness ratings increased as VOT increased, then showed a systematic decrease as VOT began to exceed values typical for English /p/. The English monolinguals' goodness ratings also varied systematically as a function of speaking rate, which was simulated in the two continua by varying syllable duration. The Spanish monolinguals, on the other hand, failed to consistently identify any of the stimuli as English /p/. Although speaking rate influenced their goodness ratings, the Spanish monolinguals' rate effects differed significantly from the English monolinguals'. The early bilinguals resembled the English monolinguals, and differed from the Spanish monolinguals to a greater extent than did the late Spanish/English bilinguals. This was taken as support for the hypothesis that early bilinguals are more likely than are late bilinguals to establish new phonetic categories for stop consonants in a second language.     

Les enfants anxieux-isolés sont-ils inhibés dans un contexte de nouveauté sociale?

Studied correlations between social behaviors in nursery school and social behaviors in novel situations to test genetic vs environmental theories of social withdrawal in early childhood. Ss were 30 preschool children (mean age 46 mo) of average social competence, 30 socially competent preschool children (mean age 47 mo), 30 aggressive-irritable preschool children (mean age 46 mo), and 28 anxious-withdrawn preschool children (mean age 45 mo). Ss were assigned to their respective groups on the basis of socioaffective ratings provided by their nursery school teachers. Each S's social behaviors were observed in 2 novel situations involving the S's own mother as well as another mother–child dyad. Intergroup differences in measures of sociability vs social inhibition were analyzed, and the effects of the mother's behaviors toward her child were determined. A French version of the Preschool Socioaffective Profile (P. J. LaFrenière et al, 1990) was used. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do Multiple Representations Need Explanations? The Role of Verbal Guidance and Individual Differences in Multimedia Mathematics Learning.

Elementary school children, some of whom were nonnative speakers of English, learned to add and subtract integers in a discovery-based multimedia game either with or without verbal guidance in English or optionally in Spanish (Groups G--verbal guidance and No-G--no verbal guidance, respectively). Group G members chose to listen to verbal explanations in their first language and showed larger posttest scores than Group No-G. High-computer-experience students in Group G outperformed the rest of the students on training session scores and a transfer test. Longer latencies to respond to practice problems affected all learning measures positively. Results support the use of verbal guidance for discovery-based multimedia games and show that multimedia games may not be equally effective for all learners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of word linguistic properties on phonological awareness in Spanish children.

We investigated whether some word linguistic properties studied by R. Treiman and S. Weatherston (see record 1992-37025-001) in the English language have the same influence on phonological awareness of preschoolers and kindergartners in the Spanish language. We examined the effects of these word linguistic properties on children's ability to isolate the initial consonant: phoneme articulatory properties, the position of stressed syllables in the words, the presence of initial consonant clusters, and the word length. We found that effects due to word length and the syllable-initial consonant cluster were similar in English and Spanish. In contrast to English-speaking children, the Spanish-speaking children could pronounce the first consonant regardless of the position of the stressed syllable, and continuant consonants were easier to isolate than stop consonants. Implications for the training of phonological awareness in the Spanish language are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The morbid anatomy of the human genome: chromosomal location of mutations causing disease (update 1 December 1993)

Bound-morphine skills of school-age, language-impaired (LI) children were explored with three tasks designed to assess multiple dimensions of this component of language. Ten English-speaking, school-age LI children (Mean age: 10:3) and ten children with normal language (Mean age: 9:9) served as subjects. A two-way analysis of variance revealed significant group differences. Fisher a priori testing documented significant group differences for a measure of English bound-morpheme skill levels, a measure of ability to generalize English bound-morphemes to novel words, and a measure of ability to learn novel bound-morphemes attached to novel words. The findings indicate that core features of developmental language impairment in preschool children--poor ability to learn, to use, and to generalize bound-morphemes--are also present in school-age, LI children.     

Relation mère-enfant qualité des interactions fraternelles chez des enfants d'age préscolaire.

Assessed the degree to which the quality of the affective mother–child relationship is linked to the quality of interactions among siblings of preschool age. 44 intact families, with 2 children of which at least one was of preschool age, participated. Two evaluation methods were used: observation of relationships between siblings in semi-structured play situations at home, and a Q-sort questionnaire on the quality of the mother–child relationship. To a certain degree, there was a link between the quality of the relationship children had with their mothers and the quality of that they had with their siblings. Results indicate that the 2 kinds of intrafamilial relationships must be viewed differently for younger and older children and suggest that the relationship with the mother can contribute to the interior self- representation that could help children assert their position and play a role among siblings. (English abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)