Maternal Sensitivity to Vocabulary Development in Specific Language-Impaired and Language-Normal Preschoolers.

A study examined mothers' accuracy in predicting the responses their children would give and the scores they would achieve on two standardized vocabulary tests. Specifically, the study's primary purpose was to examine maternal estimates of both expressive and receptive vocabulary skills according to two indices: accuracy of total score and accuracy of item by item report. A second purpose was to examine the extent to which birth-order, daycare, child age, and child language level are associated with parental predictions. The study sample included 48 mothers and their children, including 16 specific language-impaired preschoolers (mean age 52 months), 16 chronological age-matched normal children, and 16 younger language-age-matched normal children (mean age 39 months). Each child completed the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised to measure receptive vocabulary and the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised to measure expressive vocabulary. Mothers were asked to complete the vocabulary scales as they predicted their child would, and to complete the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales for their child. Results included the following: (1) first and only borns obtained significantly higher expressive vocabulary scores than second or later borns; (2) no sex effects were observed; (3) mothers of language-impaired children viewed their children's expressive and receptive vocabulary development as poorer than mothers of language-matched and age-matched controls; (4) mothers overestimated vocabulary development with the exception that maternal simulation scores in the specific-language impaired group for receptive vocabulary did not differ from actual child scores; (5) on a general level, mothers of specific-language impaired children faired more accurately in their simulations; (6) language-impaired children obtained lower ratings on the communication and socialization scales of the Vineland than other children; (7) when simulating performance, mothers of specific, language-impaired children may have been influenced by their appraisal of non-linguistic competencies--a negative halo effect; and (8) on an item by item basis, mothers of age-matched normals fared more accurately in their simulations than the other groups. (Contains 15 references.) (AC)