Latent Profiles of Early Language Development in a Large Finnish-Speaking Sample of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study
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| Title: | Latent Profiles of Early Language Development in a Large Finnish-Speaking Sample of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort Study |
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| Language: | English |
| Authors: | Essi Saloranta (ORCID |
| Source: | Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research. 2025 68(8):3989-4005. |
| Availability: | American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. 2200 Research Blvd #250, Rockville, MD 20850. Tel: 301-296-5700; Fax: 301-296-8580; e-mail: slhr@asha.org; Web site: http://jslhr.pubs.asha.org |
| Peer Reviewed: | Y |
| Page Count: | 17 |
| Publication Date: | 2025 |
| Document Type: | Journal Articles Reports - Research |
| Descriptors: | Foreign Countries, Finno Ugric Languages, Language Acquisition, Infants, Toddlers, Preschool Children, Individual Characteristics, Family Characteristics, Gender Differences, Pregnancy, Socioeconomic Status, Birth Order, Language Impairments, Language Skills |
| Geographic Terms: | Finland |
| Assessment and Survey Identifiers: | MacArthur Bates Communicative Development Inventories, Reynell Developmental Language Scales, Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence |
| DOI: | 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-24-00767 |
| ISSN: | 1092-4388 1558-9102 |
| Abstract: | Purpose: Research on early language development has primarily used two categories to group at-risk children, differing by the age at which risk is identified. Late talkers are toddlers with late onset of language development, some of whom may catch up with peers. Developmental language disorder is used to refer to children above the age of 4 years. To this day, the longitudinal relationship between the two categories remains unclear. In this study, we explored early language trajectories in a large birth cohort using exploratory methodology to gain better understanding of the types and prevalence of language trajectories from 14 months to 5 years of age, with particular interest in risk trajectories that cluster statistically. Method: We conducted latent profile analysis (LPA) on seven language variables collected between 1 and 5 years of age (N = 1,281). Multinomial logistic regression procedure was used to identify child and family characteristics that predicted profile memberships. Results: The LPA yielded three profiles of language development described as "persistent low, stable average," and "stable high." Female sex, longer duration of pregnancy, and higher maternal socioeconomic status increased the odds of belonging to the stable high-language profile, whereas male sex and not being first born increased the odds of belonging to persistent low language profile. Conclusions: Contrary to previous research, we did not observe increasing or decreasing profiles, suggesting that toddler language difficulties tend to persist at age 5 years, at least in this birth cohort. This suggests commencing language intervention early instead of the wait-and-see approach. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Entry Date: | 2025 |
| Accession Number: | EJ1482202 |
| Database: | ERIC |
| Abstract: | Purpose: Research on early language development has primarily used two categories to group at-risk children, differing by the age at which risk is identified. Late talkers are toddlers with late onset of language development, some of whom may catch up with peers. Developmental language disorder is used to refer to children above the age of 4 years. To this day, the longitudinal relationship between the two categories remains unclear. In this study, we explored early language trajectories in a large birth cohort using exploratory methodology to gain better understanding of the types and prevalence of language trajectories from 14 months to 5 years of age, with particular interest in risk trajectories that cluster statistically. Method: We conducted latent profile analysis (LPA) on seven language variables collected between 1 and 5 years of age (N = 1,281). Multinomial logistic regression procedure was used to identify child and family characteristics that predicted profile memberships. Results: The LPA yielded three profiles of language development described as "persistent low, stable average," and "stable high." Female sex, longer duration of pregnancy, and higher maternal socioeconomic status increased the odds of belonging to the stable high-language profile, whereas male sex and not being first born increased the odds of belonging to persistent low language profile. Conclusions: Contrary to previous research, we did not observe increasing or decreasing profiles, suggesting that toddler language difficulties tend to persist at age 5 years, at least in this birth cohort. This suggests commencing language intervention early instead of the wait-and-see approach. |
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| ISSN: | 1092-4388 1558-9102 |
| DOI: | 10.1044/2025_JSLHR-24-00767 |
