The Impact of Media Usage Time on Children’s Pragmatic Language Ability: Moderating Effects of Poverty Status

Pragmatic language skills, which enable children to use language effectively for social communication, develop rapidly during early childhood and are closely intertwined with parent-child interaction patterns. Children at risk for developmental language disorder (rDLD) often exhibit early difficulties not only in structural language abilities but also in pragmatic language use and social interaction, which may adversely affect their social-emotional development. Although parent-child interaction is recognized as a critical environmental factor shaping early language and communication outcomes, studies simultaneously examining pragmatic language use and parent-child interaction in young children at risk for DLD, particularly within the Turkish context, remain limited. The aim of this study was to compare pragmatic language use and parent-child interaction behaviours in Turkish children with rDLD and typically developing children, and to examine the relationships among these variables. This cross-sectional comparative study included a total of 54 children aged 24-48 months (27 rDLD, 27 typically developing) and their parents. Pragmatic language use was assessed using the parent-report Language Use Inventory-Turkish (LUI-Turkish). Parent-child interaction behaviours were observed during structured free-play sessions using the Maternal Behaviour Rating Scale (MBRS) and the Child Behaviour Rating Scale (CBRS). Independent samples t-tests were used for between-group comparisons, and Pearson correlation analyses were conducted to examine associations among variables. The LUI-Turkish results indicated that the rDLD group demonstrated significantly lower performance than the typically developing group in early verbal communication and word use, long sentence production and complex pragmatic language use, as well as in the total score (p < 0.001). Parental responsiveness and emotional expressiveness were higher in the typically developing group (p < 0.01), whereas directive parental behaviours were significantly more frequent in the rDLD group (p = 0.011-0.033). Typically developing children showed higher performance on attention, initiation, and total scores on the CBRS (p < 0.001). Correlation analyses revealed significant positive associations among TEDIL verbal language, LUI-Turkish total, and CBRS total scores, and showed that parental responsiveness and emotional expressiveness were associated with these variables (p < 0.05). The findings indicate that pragmatic language difficulties in children at risk for DLD are closely associated with parental interaction styles and child interaction behaviours. Early assessment and intervention processes should address pragmatic language, parental behaviours, and child interaction skills within a holistic framework. What is already known on this subject Children with developmental language disorder (DLD) or at risk for developmental language disorder (rDLD) frequently experience difficulties in pragmatic language use and social interaction from early childhood. Parent-child interaction, particularly parental responsiveness and directiveness, is known to influence early language development; however, pragmatic language and interactional behaviours have often been examined separately. Evidence integrating these domains in young children at risk for DLD, especially in the Turkish context, remains limited. What this paper adds to existing knowledge This study demonstrates that Turkish children with rDLD show marked difficulties in pragmatic language use alongside distinct parent-child interaction patterns characterized by lower parental responsiveness and higher directiveness. It further reveals strong associations among pragmatic language abilities, child interaction behaviours, and parental interaction styles, highlighting their interrelated nature during the 24-48-month period. These findings support a multidimensional view of rDLD that extends beyond structural language impairment. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work? The findings underscore the importance of incorporating pragmatic language assessment and direct observation of parent-child interaction into early identification processes for rDLD. Early intervention programs may benefit from adopting family-centred, interaction-based approaches that target both children's pragmatic communication skills and parental interaction strategies.

Children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) are likely to exhibit difficulties in development of psychosocial skills, pragmatic language skills, and use of hearing for social communication in real-world environments. Some evidence suggests that pragmatic language use affects peer-relationships and school engagement in these children. However, no studies have investigated the influence of functional auditory performance and use of language and speech in real-world environments on children’s behavior and emotion, and on their health-related quality of life. This study explored the relationship in DHH children at 9 years of age. Data from 144 participants of the Longitudinal Outcomes of Children with Hearing Impairment study were analyzed. Parent reports were obtained on quality of life, behavior and emotion, pragmatic language skills, and auditory functional performance of children in real life. Children’s spoken language abilities and speech intelligibility were assessed by research speech pathologists. On average, performance of children in all domains was within the range of typically developing peers. There were significant associations among functional auditory performance, use of speech and language skills, psychosocial skills, and quality of life. Multiple linear regression analyses revealed that better auditory functional performance and pragmatic language skills, rather than structural language abilities, were associated with better psychosocial abilities and quality of life. The novel findings highlight the importance of targeted intervention for improving functional hearing skills and social communication abilities in DHH children, and emphasize the importance of collaborative approaches among medical, audiology, allied health, and educational professionals to identify those at risk so that timely referral and intervention can be implemented for improving psychosocial health and well-being in DHH children.

Objective: To investigate pragmatic language abilities in young children with an increased risk for adverse neurobehavioral and neurocognitive outcomes due to an extra X or Y chromosome (sex chromosome trisomy; SCT) and to investigate to what degree early structural and pragmatic language abilities are predictive of neurobehavioral problems one year later. Method: In total, 72 children with SCT and 71 controls aged 3-7 years were included. Language assessments included parent-reported pragmatic language skills and direct assessment of structural language abilities. Parent-reported behavioral outcomes were measured one year after the initial language assessment. Results: Children with SCT demonstrated weaker pragmatic language skills compared to controls. These differences were not driven by karyotype, time of diagnosis, or ascertainment bias and irrespective of the presence of structural language impairment. Odds of having pragmatic difficulties was 23 times higher in the SCT group, with 25% of the children not meeting age-expectations. In addition, language, in particular pragmatic language, was an important predictor for later affective, oppositional defiant, pervasive developmental, attention deficit, and social-emotional problems in young children with SCT. Conclusions: This study is one of the first studies that directly illustrates the relationship between language and behavioral outcomes in children with SCT. Our results stress the importance to closely monitor pragmatic language in addition to structural language in clinical care of children with SCT, as pragmatic language abilities could serve as an early marker for children at risk for developing behavioral problems.

This cross-sectional study examined the relationship between gender, age, and pragmatic language development in n = 77 Italian preschool children (49–84 months) with and without neurodevelopmental disorders. The sample included 62 children without psychiatric history (n = 34 females, n = 27 males) and n = 15 children with psychiatric history (2 females, n = 13 males). Eight cases (n = 6 males, n = 2 females, 59–75 months) were matched for age and gender. The neurodevelopmental disorder group used the Targeted Observation of Pragmatics in Children’s Conversations (TOPICC) tool. Pragmatic language skills were assessed with the Pragmatic Language Abilities (APL), Children’s Communication Checklist-Version 2 (CCC-2), and TOPICC scales. Results showed no significant relationship between gender and pragmatic language development subscales, except for a marginally significant relationship with figurative metaphor scores. Age was positively correlated with verbal metaphor, metaphor, implied meaning, and overall pragmatic language skills, but not with figurative metaphor or situations scores. Paired samples t-tests and Wilcoxon tests compared matched groups, revealing significant differences between children with and without neurodevelopmental disorders on the TOPICC, APL, and CCC-2 tools. The findings highlight the importance of early identification and intervention for children with pragmatic language impairment (PLI) and the need for further research with larger samples.

A scoping review of sex/gender differences in pragmatic language and friendship characteristics in autistic children and adolescents

Background: This research was motivated by the problem of children with special needs having difficulty in developing interactive conversations. This happens because they have difficulty understanding and predicting other people's thoughts and feelings. They consider the process of changing listening and explaining to be very difficult to do. They don't know what to focus on and how to respond back to their conversation partners, which results in crew members becoming less confident every time they speak. The required components of speech clarity and pragmatic language include non-verbal communication, conversation initiation and maintenance, while structural language, is a narrower category of skills that includes syntax, articulation and phonology. Objectives: This research aims to determine the relationship between speech clarity and pragmatic language skills in inclusive elementary school students in Surakarta. Methods: This type of research is quantitative with a correlational descriptive design. The data collection technique uses purposive sampling technique. Data was taken using the Assessing Intelligibility Worksheet questionnaire and the pragmatic language ability questionnaire. Next, the data was analyzed using the chi-square correlation test. Results: Univariate respondents with male gender were 22 children (73.3%) and 8 children female (26.7%). The speech clarity results of 10 children (33.3%) were average and 20 children (66.7%) were below average. The results of pragmatic language ability showed that 7 children (23.3%) were capable. 23 children (76.7%) are not yet capable. The results of the bivariate analysis obtained the value of ρ is 0.836 where the value of ρ≥0.05, which can be interpreted as Ha being rejected and Ho being accepted. Conclusion: There is no relationship between speech clarity and pragmatic language skills in inclusive elementary school students in Surakarta. Keywords : Speech clarity, Pragmatics, ABK, Inclusion, Elementary School

Fetal androgen exposure and pragmatic language ability of girls in middle childhood: Implications for the extreme male-brain theory of autism

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES:Pragmatic language skills form the foundation for conversational competence, whereas deficits in this area are associated with behavioral problems and low literacy skills. Children who are deaf or hard of hearing demonstrate significant delays in this critical area of language. Our purpose with this research was to identify variables associated with pragmatic language ability in children who are deaf or hard of hearing.METHODS:This was a longitudinal study of 124 children with bilateral hearing loss between 4 and 7 years of age living in Colorado. As part of a comprehensive speech and language assessment, pragmatic language skills were evaluated annually by using the Pragmatics Checklist.RESULTS:The children’s pragmatic skills increased significantly with age. Higher levels of pragmatic language ability at 7 years of age were predicted by (1) meeting Early Hearing Detection and Intervention 1–3–6 guidelines (hearing screening by 1 month, identification of hearing loss by 3 months, and receiving intervention by 6 months of age), (2) greater quantity of parent talk, (3) higher nonverbal intelligence, (4) lesser degrees of hearing loss, and (5) higher maternal education.CONCLUSIONS:With the findings of this study, we underscore the importance of pediatricians and other health care professionals counseling parents about the value of adherence to the Early Hearing Detection and Intervention 1–3–6 guidelines with regard to intervention outcomes. The strong association between amount of child-directed parent talk in the first 4 years of life and pragmatic language outcomes at 7 years of age emphasizes the need for professionals to encourage parents to talk to their children as much as possible.

This conclusion summarizes key insights from the former chapters, and highlights political dimensions of media use in digital everyday life. I particularly underline how our more digital everyday lives intensify communicative dilemmas, in which individuals in everyday settings negotiate with societal norms and power structures through their uses of media technologies. I also discuss how everyday media use connects us to different societal spheres and issues, also pointing to global challenges such as the pandemic and the climate crisis, arguing that everyday media use is key to our understandings of society. I discuss how to analyze this in media use research, emphasizing attention to processes of change and disruption.

Objective: Children with ADHD often show a positive illusory bias (PIB), reporting an extremely positive idea of their own competence, despite their difficulties. The mechanisms underlying this phenomenon are still poorly understood. In the present study, we examined social PIB and investigated the role of executive functions (EFs) and pragmatic language (PL). Method: Forty-one children with ADHD and 42 typically-developing children matched on age, IQ, and receptive language were administered measures of social competence, EFs and PL. The parents were also asked to estimate their child’s social competence. Results: There was evidence of social difficulties and PIB in children with ADHD. Only PL, not EFs, seemed to mediate the association between ADHD and PIB. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that PL abilities should be considered in efforts to improve self-perception in children with ADHD.

Trajectories of pragmatic and nonliteral language development in children with autism spectrum disorders

Background Language development in children with visual impairments (i.e., blindness or low vision) has received significant attention, particularly regarding its pragmatic component. Controversy surrounds the development of the structural aspects of language in this population, which are crucial for fostering neurodevelopmental skills. This review aims to assess the existing literature on both structural and pragmatic language abilities in infants and children with visual impairments, considering implications for treatment. Method A systematic literature search adhering to PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines and the PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparator, and Outcome) framework yielded 13 relevant studies (1995–2022) from PubMed, PsycINFO, and Cochrane Library. Data synthesis focused on structural language skill development concerning social interactions, perceptual experience, parallels with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and pragmatic language skills in children with visual impairments aged birth to 12 years. Implications for language intervention were discussed. Results All selected articles ( n = 13) originated from high-income countries, predominantly featuring English-speaking participants. Studies often had small sample sizes and included children with heterogeneous causes and types of visual impairment, ranging from moderate visual impairment to blindness. Various tests and questionnaires assessed structural and pragmatic language skills. According to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) classification, eight, two, and three articles were classified as having evidence levels IIa, IIb, and III, respectively. Conclusion The role of language is pivotal in the educational development of children with visual impairments, facilitating their understanding of the environment and compensating for the lack of visual experiences. Although studies typically suggest no need for direct intervention targeting structural language components, integrating parent training approaches focused on dyadic interaction characteristics and environmental organization can effectively promote language and communication development.

Neuropragmatics investigates brain functions and neural activities responsible for pragmatic language abilities, often impaired in disorders such as hemisphere damage, autism, schizophrenia, and neurodegenerative disorders. This study examined the development of neuropragmatics and existing neuroimaging evidence using bibliometric and scientometric indicators, analyzing 4,247 documents published between 1967 and 2022 with CiteSpace and VOSviewer. Our cluster analysis revealed key themes. 1) Language comprehension loss due to brain injury: Studies exploring the impact of brain injuries on language comprehension and underlying neural mechanisms. 2) Right hemisphere damage and pragmatic language skills: Research focusing on the relationship between right hemisphere damage and pragmatic language abilities, investigating impairments in social language use and potential neural correlates. 3) Traumatic brain injury and social communication assessment: Research on traumatic brain injury effects on social communication skills, using various assessment tools to evaluate communication effectiveness in social situations. These clusters provide valuable insights into the neuropragmatics field and serve as a framework for future investigations. By building upon existing knowledge, researchers can improve our understanding of brain functions, language behavior, and enhance rehabilitation for individuals with pragmatic language impairments.

Pragmatic language ability refers to the ability to use language in a social context. It has been found to be correlated with success in general education for deaf and hard of hearing children. It is therefore of great importance to study why deaf and hard of hearing children often perform more poorly than their hearing peers on tests measuring pragmatic language ability. In the current study the Pragmatics Profile questionnaire from the CELF-IV battery was used to measure pragmatic language ability in children using cochlear implants (N = 14) and children without a hearing loss (N = 34). No significant difference was found between the children with cochlear implants (CI) and the children without hearing loss (HL) for the sum score of the pragmatics language measure. However, 35.71% of the children with CI performed below age norm, while only 5.89% of the children without HL performed below age norm. In addition, when dividing the sum score into three sub-measures: Rituals and Conversational skills (RCS), Asking for, Giving, and Responding to Information (AGRI), and Nonverbal Communication skills (NCS), significant differences between the groups were found for the NCS measure and a tendency for a difference was found for the RCS measure. In addition, all three sub-measures (NCS, AGRI, RCS) were correlated to verbal fluency in the children with CI, but not the children without HL.

It remains unclear whether pragmatic language skills and core language skills (grammar and vocabulary) are distinct language domains. The present work aimed to tease apart these domains using a novel online assessment battery administered to almost 400 children aged 7 to 13 years. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that pragmatic and core language domains could be measured separately, but that both domains were highly related (r = .79). However, zero-order correlations between pragmatic tests were quite small, indicating that task-specific skills played an important role in performance, and follow-up exploratory factor analysis suggested that pragmatics might be best understood as a family of skills rather than a domain. This means that these different pragmatic skills may have different cognitive underpinnings and also need to be assessed separately. However, our overall results supported the idea that pragmatic and core aspects of language are closely related during development, with one area scaffolding development in the other.