The predictive role of caregiver's language richness in child development outcomes in rural China

Abstract

There is rich literature on the predictive role of the caregiver's language richness in child development outcomes during caregiver-child interaction. However, it is unclear whether this is true in rural China, where many young children are still not developing to their fullest potential. Our study supplements the current evidence in rural China by answering three questions. First, is the rural caregiver's language richness associated with child development outcomes? Second, do different child characteristics, caregiver characteristics, and household poverty status affect the relationship between caregiver language richness and early child development outcomes? Third, does the caregiver's language suitability moderate the association between language richness and child development outcomes? We observed and recorded 10-minute-long videos of 591 rural children aged 6–30 months and their primary caregiver dyads in a free toy play session and collected their social-demographic information. Trained coders coded videotaped interactions to obtain measurements of the caregiver's language richness and suitability. Children were assessed for cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional development. A multivariate linear regression model adjusted for covariates was used to estimate the association between the caregiver's language richness and child development outcomes. Interaction terms were then added to the adjusted model to explore the moderating role of caregivers’ language suitability, child characteristics, caregiver characteristics, and household poverty status. The caregiver's language richness is positively associated with the child's cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional development. The association is more pronounced for children who are boys, in later toddlerhood, or from registered poverty households. In addition, we found that the caregiver's language suitability could enhance the association between language richness and child development outcomes.