| dc.description.abstract | Previous research on language development in children with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) has often focused on either child or parent characteristics, with limited attention to dyadic factors that reflect the bidirectional nature of parent-child interaction. This study addresses that gap by examining the relationship between three dyadic interaction factors, turn-taking, joint engagement and mutuality, and children’s language abilities. The central research question was whether these factors differ between dyads with children with and without DLD, and whether they are associated with language ability. Based on previous research, it was hypothesized that interactions between children with DLD and their parents would be less dyadic in terms of turn-taking, joint engagement and mutuality, and that all three factors would be positively related to language ability. The study used a cross-sectional design with 68 Dutch parent-child dyads: 35 children with suspected DLD and 33 typically developing children, aged 29 to 46 months. Parent-child interactions were video-recorded during a 10-minute play session at home and analyzed using both micro-analytic coding (for turn-taking and joint engagement) and macro observation scales (for mutuality). Results showed that turn-taking did not differ between groups, but joint engagement and mutuality were observed to be significantly lower in the DLD group. Mutuality was positively associated with both expressive and receptive language. However, none of the three dyadic factors uniquely predicted language outcomes. Group status remained the strongest predictor for both expressive and receptive language. Additionally, an interaction effect was found between joint engagement and group for receptive language scores. Together, these results underscore the particular importance of the socio-emotional dimension of parent-child interactions, highlighting the need for a more nuanced, quality-focused approach in both research and intervention, one that goes beyond quantity and attends to the child’s individual processing needs. | |
