Abstract
ABSTRACT This longitudinal, population-based study investigated associations between language problems (LP) and emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD). Parents and teachers gave information about LP and EBD when the children were 7–9 (T1) and 11–13 years old (T2). Self-reports of EBD were included at T2. In line with findings from clinically referred samples, children with LP scored higher than controls on all measures of EBD at both time-points. A subgroup with persistent LP showed more severe EBD than a subgroup with transient LP. Hyperactivity and peer problems at T1 were significantly associated with the risk of persistent LP. Boys in the persistent subgroup had more severe behaviour problems as reported by all informants, whereas self-reports revealed more severe emotional problems in girls with LP. The profound and consistent reports across informants of EBD in children with LP emphasise the importance of providing both mental health and language support in childhood as well as in adolescence. Addressing symptoms associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and social problems may be of especial importance to improve LP outcome. The complexity of problems encountered underlines the need for a combined expertise and multidisciplinary approach to language impairment in youth.
Highlights
Language is vital for interacting with others, for regulating emotions, behaviours, and for academic function
Lindsay and Dockrell (2012), using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ; Goodman 1999) to assess emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD), found that while emotional problems and hyperactivity decreased into adolescence, the severity level of peer problems and conduct problems increased
Other studies have supported an age-related increase in peer problems (e.g. St Clair et al 2011) and beha vioural problems (Puglisi et al 2016), and the importance of hyperactivity has been emphasised in studies of both children and adolescents with language problems (LP) (Helland, Helland, and Heiman 2014; Pickles et al 2016)
Summary
Language is vital for interacting with others, for regulating emotions, behaviours, and for academic function. The inclusion of gender imbalanced samples may represent another challenge, in that several studies have shown that boys tend to be reported with more externalising symptoms than girls, who tend to be reported with more severe internalising symptoms (Bøe et al 2016; Capron, Theron, and Duyme 2007; Conti-Ramsden and Durkin 2016; Muris, Meesters, and van den Berg 2003; Redmond 2016; Rescorla et al 2007; Rytioja, Lappalainen, and Savolainen 2019; Rønning et al 2004; Sargisson, Stanley, and Hayword 2016) Another source of bias in LP research comes from the use of clinical samples, providing results that are more valid for the most severe cases than the heterogeneous group of individuals with LP. We explore the impact of gender, informant and different aspects of EBD on the persistent vs. transient LP pathways
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