Early language impairments and developmental pathways of emotional problems across childhood

Background Language impairments are associated with an increased likelihood of emotional difficulties later in childhood or adolescence, but little is known about the impact of LI on the growth of emotional problems. Aims To examine the link between early language status (language impaired (LI), typical language (TL)) and the pattern and predictors of growth in emotional difficulties from school entry to the start of high school in a large cohort of Australian children. Methods & Procedures Unconditional latent growth curves of emotional difficulties were modelled across four waves (ages 4-5, 6-7, 8-9 and 10-11) using data from 1627 boys (280 LI, 1347 TL) and 1609 girls (159 LI, 1450 TL). Conditional latent growth curves estimated the main effects of LI on the severity and slope of growth in emotional problems. Simultaneous multiple regression tested the interaction between language status and the other predictors of the development of emotional symptoms. Outcomes & Results LI predicted a significant persistent elevation in severity of emotional difficulties across childhood among boys (d = 0.33-0.57) and girls (d = 0.25-0.39) but was not associated with their growth. LI moderated the association between hostile parenting and the severity of emotional symptoms for boys and the effect of socioeconomic status (SES) and temperamental sociability on the linear and quadratic growth of emotional problems for girls but had no impact on the influence of other predictors. Conclusions & Implications There is no effect of LI on the characteristic rate and shape of growth in emotional symptoms across childhood although LI children maintain elevated severities of emotional difficulties. The associations between child reactivity, peer problems, prosocial behaviours, maternal distress and parental warmth and the development of emotional difficulties were the same for LI and TL children. LI enhanced the influence of hostile parenting on a higher severity of emotional symptoms for boys and of lower SES on a faster rate of development of emotional symptoms for girls. LI offset the usual protective effect of higher sociability and the usual vulnerability of higher social avoidance to a faster increase in emotional symptoms with age.