Developmental Language Risk and Social and Behavioral Functioning in Bilingual Latinx Adolescents.

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Title: Developmental Language Risk and Social and Behavioral Functioning in Bilingual Latinx Adolescents.
Authors: Palma, José R.1 jpalma@tamu.edu, Peña, Elizabeth D.2, Esperanza, Catherine3, Albudoor, Nahar4, Rodríguez, Erin M.3
Source: Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research. Feb2026, Vol. 69 Issue 2, p725-736. 12p.
Subject Terms: *Emotion regulation, *Hispanic Americans, *Internalizing behavior, *Communities, *Multilingualism, *Adolescent psychology, *Communicative disorders, *Language disorders, Risk assessment, Research funding, Multiple regression analysis, Fisher exact test, Social skills, Externalizing behavior, Disease risk factors
Abstract: Purpose: This study examines the relationship between language development risks and social and behavioral functioning, specifically externalizing problems (EPs), internalizing problems (IPs), and social competence (SC), among bilingual Latinx youth. Method: We used a community-based sample of 129 bilingual Latinx youth and their caregivers from a large urban city in the U.S. South. Participants completed standardized parent- and child-report measures in Spanish and English to assess developmental language disorder (DLD) risk and social and behavioral concerns (SBCs), and children completed assessments of their narrative skills in English and Spanish. Fisher's exact tests were used to assess differences in SBC identification and bootstrap tests to examine differences in SBC scores between youth with and without DLD risks. Multiple regression analyses were employed to explore the association of children's narrative skills in each language with SBCs, controlling for key demographics. Results: Youth with DLD risk were more likely to have clinically significant IP, based on Youth Self-Report. Youth at risk of DLD reported higher levels of IP in both parent- and self-reports, but there were no significant differences for EP and SC. Regression analyses revealed low but statistically significant associations between Spanish narrative skills and lower parent-reported SC and low but statistically significant English narrative skills and higher self-reported SC. Conclusions: Bilingual Latinx youth with DLD may experience IP across multiple settings, making self-reports more sensitive to capturing the relations between IP and DLD risks. Oral narration skills showed small but significant associations with SC, suggesting a potential role in social functioning. These findings highlight the importance of including community-based samples to understand better the diverse experiences of youth that might not be represented in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Education Research Complete
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  Data: Developmental Language Risk and Social and Behavioral Functioning in Bilingual Latinx Adolescents.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Palma%2C+José+R%2E%22">Palma, José R.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo><i> jpalma@tamu.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Peña%2C+Elizabeth+D%2E%22">Peña, Elizabeth D.</searchLink><relatesTo>2</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Esperanza%2C+Catherine%22">Esperanza, Catherine</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Albudoor%2C+Nahar%22">Albudoor, Nahar</searchLink><relatesTo>4</relatesTo><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Rodríguez%2C+Erin+M%2E%22">Rodríguez, Erin M.</searchLink><relatesTo>3</relatesTo>
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Journal+of+Speech%2C+Language+%26+Hearing+Research%22">Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 69 Issue 2, p725-736. 12p.
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  Data: *<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Emotion+regulation%22">Emotion regulation</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Hispanic+Americans%22">Hispanic Americans</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Internalizing+behavior%22">Internalizing behavior</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communities%22">Communities</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multilingualism%22">Multilingualism</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Adolescent+psychology%22">Adolescent psychology</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Communicative+disorders%22">Communicative disorders</searchLink><br />*<searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Language+disorders%22">Language disorders</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Risk+assessment%22">Risk assessment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Research+funding%22">Research funding</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Multiple+regression+analysis%22">Multiple regression analysis</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Fisher+exact+test%22">Fisher exact test</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Social+skills%22">Social skills</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Externalizing+behavior%22">Externalizing behavior</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Disease+risk+factors%22">Disease risk factors</searchLink>
– Name: Abstract
  Label: Abstract
  Group: Ab
  Data: Purpose: This study examines the relationship between language development risks and social and behavioral functioning, specifically externalizing problems (EPs), internalizing problems (IPs), and social competence (SC), among bilingual Latinx youth. Method: We used a community-based sample of 129 bilingual Latinx youth and their caregivers from a large urban city in the U.S. South. Participants completed standardized parent- and child-report measures in Spanish and English to assess developmental language disorder (DLD) risk and social and behavioral concerns (SBCs), and children completed assessments of their narrative skills in English and Spanish. Fisher's exact tests were used to assess differences in SBC identification and bootstrap tests to examine differences in SBC scores between youth with and without DLD risks. Multiple regression analyses were employed to explore the association of children's narrative skills in each language with SBCs, controlling for key demographics. Results: Youth with DLD risk were more likely to have clinically significant IP, based on Youth Self-Report. Youth at risk of DLD reported higher levels of IP in both parent- and self-reports, but there were no significant differences for EP and SC. Regression analyses revealed low but statistically significant associations between Spanish narrative skills and lower parent-reported SC and low but statistically significant English narrative skills and higher self-reported SC. Conclusions: Bilingual Latinx youth with DLD may experience IP across multiple settings, making self-reports more sensitive to capturing the relations between IP and DLD risks. Oral narration skills showed small but significant associations with SC, suggesting a potential role in social functioning. These findings highlight the importance of including community-based samples to understand better the diverse experiences of youth that might not be represented in clinical settings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
– Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright
  Label:
  Group: Ab
  Data: <i>Copyright of Journal of Speech, Language & Hearing Research is the property of American Speech-Language-Hearing Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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      – Type: doi
        Value: 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-25-00416
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      – Code: eng
        Text: English
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      Pagination:
        PageCount: 12
        StartPage: 725
    Subjects:
      – SubjectFull: Emotion regulation
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Hispanic Americans
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Internalizing behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communities
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Multilingualism
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Adolescent psychology
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Communicative disorders
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Language disorders
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Risk assessment
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      – SubjectFull: Research funding
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      – SubjectFull: Multiple regression analysis
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      – SubjectFull: Fisher exact test
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      – SubjectFull: Social skills
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      – SubjectFull: Externalizing behavior
        Type: general
      – SubjectFull: Disease risk factors
        Type: general
    Titles:
      – TitleFull: Developmental Language Risk and Social and Behavioral Functioning in Bilingual Latinx Adolescents.
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              Text: Feb2026
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              Y: 2026
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