Date

6-19-2024

Department

School of Behavioral Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Psychology (PhD)

Chair

William McMillan

Keywords

Language development, cognitive skills, brain development, socioeconomic background, spirituality, bilingualism, and monolingualism

Disciplines

Psychology

Abstract

Human development is a continuous process with critical periods, and early childhood is part of that process, with internal changes prompted by external factors. An essential part of human development is language acquisition and cognitive skills which are shaped by heredity, brain structure, personal differences, social interaction, and socioeconomic background. In recent decades the exposure to multiple languages at home has been growing, causing differences between the language status (bilingual or monolingual) and the executive functions of developing children. Some previous studies have pointed out cognitive differences in bilingual children, while others have not. The present study observed three variables (language, cognitive skills, and poverty), among 500 children between 18 – 36 months, with 250 children identified with a home language other than English and 250 children identified exclusively with English as the home language. The relationship between the variables was observed from DAYC2 scores, a standardized test used to determine eligibility for early intervention services in the categories of no delay, delay, and significant delay. The results can be summarized as a statistically significant relationship of <.001 between language and cognitive skills in all participants and a moderate influence (though not statistically significant) of poverty in language delays. The present study concluded that bilingualism impacts cognitive and language skills and acts as a protective factor that buffers the effect of poverty in early childhood.

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