Associations Between Social Skills, Inattention, and English Vocabulary Skills of Preschool Latinx Dual Language Learners

Abstract

ABSTRACT It is well documented that early social skills and inattention are linked to the development of children’s emergent vocabulary skills; however, the existing literature primarily focuses on White, non-Latinx and/or African American children. Few studies have examined the relationships between these domains with Latinx dual language learners (DLLs) in preschool. The purpose of this study was to fill this gap by examining the association between social skills, inattention, and emergent English vocabulary skills in this understudied population. A secondary analysis of an existing data set investigating the effects of a shared book reading intervention on 274 preschool Latinx DLLs was used. Multilevel analyses indicated that children with higher English receptive vocabulary skills at the beginning of preschool had higher overall social skills and fewer inattention problems midway through preschool. Results also showed that children with higher overall mid-year social skills had higher expressive vocabulary skills at the end of preschool, and children with fewer mid-year inattention problems had higher receptive and expressive vocabulary skills at the end of preschool. These findings suggest that targeting emergent English vocabulary, social skills, and inattentive behaviors is important for academic and social development among preschool Latinx DLLs.