The effect of otitis media and daycare quality on mother/child bookreading and language use at 48 months of age

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand the effect of quality of childcare and experience with otitis media (OM) early in life on mother/child bookreading and language use at 48 months of age. Forty-one children were followed from daycare entry in the first year of life until 4 years of age. Weekly health screenings from daycare entry until 4 years of age were performed by a nurse and physician to assess OM. Half the children were classified as chronic OM and half as nonchronic OM. Half the children were in low-quality care and half in high-quality care, but there were no SES confounds with quality of care. Children who had chronic OM and were in low-quality care spoke half as many words and different words during bookreading, answered fewer abstract questions correctly, and were rated more poorly on language use by their teachers than the other three groups of children.