Temporal Properties of Vocal Turn-Taking between Parents and Young Children with Typical Development: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Abstract

Objectives: The temporal response characteristics in vocal turn-taking are related to the language and emotional development of infants. This study identified the temporal response patterns in the vocal turn-taking between parents and infants with typical development through systematic literature and meta-analysis.Methods: Using eight databases, the appropriateness of the literature was evaluated according to the Participants, Intervention, Comparison, Outcomes, and Study design (PICOS) criteria. As a result, seven articles which met the inclusive criteria were selected. A systematic review and meta-analysis of the literature was conducted. The effect sizes were calculated using Hedges’s g.Results: As a result of the systematic literature review, the selected literature had a low risk of bias. In a considerable number of articles, mothers and infants before 12 months of age participated. The duration of parents’ vocalization was significantly longer than that of infants. On the other hand, there was no significant difference in the switching pause between parents and infants.Conclusion: These results suggest that although infants have less duration of vocalization than their parents due to lack of linguistic experience, infants may know the rules of switching pause in verbal communication. Future research should examine parents and infants with diverse communication disorders such as hearing loss and autism spectrum disorders. In addition, these findings have implications for assessment and early intervention designed to target parents’ communication behaviors.