Does Where You Live Predict What You Say? Associations between Neighborhood Factors, Child Sleep, and Language Development

Brain Sciences

Susan Graham¹  Lianne Tomfohr-Madsen¹  Anna L. MacKinnon¹  Queenie K. W. Li¹  Suzanne Tough² 

[1] Department of Psychology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB T2N 1N4, Canada;Owerko Centre, Alberta Children’s Hospital Research Institute (ACHRI), Calgary, AB T3B 6A8, Canada;

关键词: child sleep;    language development;    neighborhood deprivation;    neighborhood disorder;   

DOI  :  10.3390/brainsci12020223

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Language ability is strongly related to important child developmental outcomes. Family-level socioeconomic status influences child language ability; it is unclear if, and through which mechanisms, neighborhood-level factors impact child language. The current study investigated the association between neighborhood factors (deprivation and disorder) assessed before birth and child language outcomes at age 5, with sleep duration as a potential underlying pathway. Secondary analysis was conducted on data collected between 2008 and 2018 on a subsample of 2444 participants from the All Our Families cohort study (Calgary, Canada) for whom neighborhood information from pregnancy could be geocoded. Neighborhood deprivation was determined using the Vancouver Area Neighborhood Deprivation Index (VANDIX), and disorder was assessed using crime reports. Mothers reported on their children’s sleep duration and language ability. Multilevel modeling indicated that greater neighborhood deprivation and disorder during pregnancy were predictive of lower scores on the Child Communication Checklist–2 (CCC–2) at 5 years. Path analyses revealed an indirect effect of neighborhood disorder on language through child sleep duration at 12 months. These results add to growing evidence that child development should be considered within the context of multiple systems. Sleep duration as an underlying link between environmental factors and child language ability warrants further study as a potential target for intervention.

【 授权许可】

Unknown