Purpose: The authors of this study investigated the validity of tense and agreement productivity (TAP) scoring in diverse sentence frames obtained during conversational language sampling as an alternative measure of finiteness for use with young children. Method: Longitudinal language samples were used to model TAP growth from 21 to 30 months of…

There is considerable dispute about the nature of infant memory. Using SEM models, we examined whether popular characterizations of the structure of adult memory, including the two-process theory of recognition, are applicable in the infant and toddler years. The participants were a cohort of preterms and full-terms assessed longitudinally--at 1,…

This longitudinal investigation of 84 infants examined whether the effect of 12-month attachment on 18- and 24-month exploration and sociability with unfamiliar adults varied as a function of newborn irritability. As expected, results revealed an interaction between attachment (secure vs. insecure) and irritability (highly irritable vs. moderately…

We investigated whether children's robust conscience, formed during early family socialization, promotes their future adaptive and competent functioning in expanded ecologies. We assessed two dimensions of conscience in young children (N = 100) at 25, 38, and 52 months in scripted laboratory contexts: internalization of their mothers' and fathers'…

Social skills and symbol skills are positively associated in middle childhood, but the relation between these domains is less clear in newly verbal toddlers. Vygotsky proposed that symbols are both tools for interaction and mental tools for thought. Do symbols help even very young children build skills for interacting with and conceptualizing the…

Temperament traits may increase risk for developmental psychopathology like Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and disruptive behaviors during childhood, as well as predisposing to substance abuse during adolescence. In the current study, a cascade model of trait pathways to adolescent substance abuse was examined. Component…

Examined relationship between emotion regulation at ages 5, 10, and 18 months, and compliance at 30 months. Found that infants with low levels of regulatory behavior were more likely to be noncompliant as toddlers. High cardiac vagal tone was related to noncompliance to toy clean-up, whereas low cardiac vagal tone was related to noncompliance to…

Two cohorts of same-sex twin pairs were assessed on grammar and vocabulary. Findings indicated that vocabulary and grammar correlated strongly at 2 and 3 years in both cohorts, with a consistently high genetic correlation between vocabulary and grammar at both ages. Findings suggest that the same genetic influences operate for vocabulary and…

Stability and predictive validity in the language and play development of 41 toddlers were studied. Links between language and symbolic play of toddlers were examined at 13 and 20 months in terms of homotypic, heterotypic, or mediated models of association. In the homotypic model, performance on a variable is related to performance on the same…

A study of 70 children found that hearing levels at 12-18 months were significantly associated with speech delay and low language outcomes at 3 years of age. Significant and substantial effects of hearing levels at 12-18 months on speech status at 3 years were significantly mediated by language status at 3 years. (Contains extensive references.)…

Recent studies have attempted to understand the processes involved in joint attention because of its relevance to both atypical and normal development. Data from a recent study of young children with autism suggests that performance on a delay nonmatch to sample (DNMS) task associated with ventromedial prefrontal functions, but not an…

The goal of this study was to examine the links between difficult temperament (i.e., negative emotionality) and harsh parental discipline during toddlerhood, and reactive and proactive aggression in kindergarten. These links were assessed on a longitudinal population-based study of 1516 boys and girls followed longitudinally from the age of 17…

Examined relations between nonmaternal child care and maternal sensitivity and child positive engagement ratings during mother-child interaction; infants were between 6 and 36 months old. Found that more child care hours predicted less maternal sensitivity and less positive child engagement. Child care effect sizes were similar to those for…

This report describes options for study designs to evaluate the effect of early intervention on infants and toddlers, birth to three, with disabilities or developmental delays and their families in Washington state. Information was gathered from extensive literature reviews, a survey of local assessment efforts in Washington, a technical data…