How congruent are parent reports on 3-4-year-old children's language skills with other sources of data?

Background

Parental report measures such as the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDIs) are frequently used to study communicative skills of children under 3 years of age. Less is known about the usability of such reports for assessing communication skills in older children due to their advanced language skills, and a higher variety of communicative partners and communication contexts.

Aims

To assess the concurrent and predictive validity of the Estonian (E) CDI-III at ages 3;0 and 4;0 years. The first research goal was to examine its concurrent variability-associations with teacher reports and directly measured language skills. The second goal of the study was to investigate the predictive validity of parent reports-the degree to which parent-and teacher-reported language scores for children at age 3;0 are useful for predicting examiner-administered language comprehension and production scores 1 year later.

Methods

Estonian monolingual children were investigated longitudinally at ages 3;0 (n = 104; M age = 35.77 months, SD = 0.84; 42% males) and 4;0 (n = 87; M age = 48.18 months, SD = 1.16; 42% males) years. Children were assessed with the parent-reported ECDI-III, with teacher-reported assessments on children's talkativeness, vocabulary size and grammatical skills, and the examiner-administered New Reynell Developmental Language Scales IV (NRDLS).

Results

Results indicated significant positive relationships between the ECDI-III total scores, teacher reports, and directly measured language comprehension and production scores, demonstrating concurrent validity of parental reports of children language skills at both ages. When controlling for mothers' education, children's gender, and reported language difficulties, parental and teacher reports were predictive of language production scores, whereas only parental reports predicted comprehension scores 1 year later. None of the controls was predictive of later language comprehension and production scores.

Conclusion

In sum, good concurrent and predictive validity of the ECDI-III shows that the instrument is a valid tool for assessing communicative skills in Estonian children. Results suggest that parent reports can offer useable information also about communicative skills of children older than three years.

Teacher- and parent-reported trajectories of maladaptive behaviors among individuals with autism and non-spectrum delays

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and non-spectrum developmental delays frequently exhibit maladaptive behaviors throughout the lifespan, which can have pervasive effects on quality of life. Maladaptive behaviors have been shown to change over time as a function of various individual-level factors (e.g., cognitive ability), yet research is primarily limited to parent-reported measures. To expand upon this work, the present study aimed to examine trajectories of teacher- and parent-reported maladaptive behaviors (i.e., hyperactivity, irritability, social withdrawal) and to test whether individual-level predictors (e.g., autism features, verbal intelligence quotient) and school-related predictors (e.g., teacher type, student-adult ratio, personal aide, school type) impact these trajectories among 165 individuals with ASD or non-spectrum delays from ages 9 to 18. Multilevel models revealed that, according to both teacher and parent report, participants showed the greatest improvement in hyperactivity, less but still notable improvement in irritability, and stable levels of social withdrawal over time. Higher verbal ability and fewer ASD features, in addition to mainstream school placement, emerged as important individual- and school-related differences associated with fewer maladaptive behaviors over time. The multi-informant perspective and longitudinal design provide novel insight into the manifestations of these maladaptive behaviors across different contexts and across time. Findings highlight the consistency of teacher- and parent-reported trajectories over time and further emphasize the importance of targeting maladaptive behaviors using a multisystem intervention approach in both school and home contexts.

Associations Between Self, Peer, and Teacher Reports of Victimization and Social Skills in School in Children With Language Disorders

Previous studies have shown that teachers and parents of children with language disorders report them to have higher victimization scores, a heightened risk of low-quality friendships and social difficulties, and may be more vulnerable to peer rejection than control peers. However, there are few studies of bullying in children with developmental language disorder (DLD) and reading difficulties (RD), and none has considered the mutual relationships between teacher reports, the perceptions of classmates, and children's self-reports. We analyzed the experiences of bullying and peer relationships in primary school students with DLD and RD as compared to their age-matched peers using teacher reports, peer reports, and self-reports on victimization. Additionally, we explored how these three perspectives are associated. Results indicated lower levels of peer-rated prosocial skills in DLD and RD students compared to their peers, as well as higher levels of victimization as assessed by peers for students with DLD. In the same line, the teachers' ratings showed that students with DLD presented poorer social skills, less adaptability, and more withdrawal in social interaction. Contrastingly, self-reports informed of similar rates of interpersonal relationships, social stress, and peer victimization between the three groups. Consequently, we found significant correlations between measures of peer reports and teacher reports that contrasted with the lack of correlations between self and other agents' reports. These findings stress the importance of using self-reports, peer reports, and teacher reports at the same time to detect bullying situations that might go unnoticed.

Cortisol stress responses and children's behavioral functioning at school

The present study investigated whether cortisol stress responses of 6‐year‐olds were associated with their behavioral functioning at school. Additionally, the moderating role of stress in the family environment was examined. To this end, 149 healthy children (M_age = 6.09 years; 70 girls) participated in an age‐appropriate innovative social evaluative stress test. Saliva cortisol samples were collected six times during the stress test to calculate two indices of the cortisol stress response: cortisol stress reactivity and total stress cortisol. Teachers assessed children's internalizing, externalizing, and prosocial behaviors. Stress in the family environment was operationalized as maternally reported parenting stress. Results indicated a significant increase in cortisol concentrations in response to the stressor. No significant associations were found between cortisol stress responses and behavioral functioning at school and there was no evidence for moderation by maternal parenting stress. Potential theoretical and methodological explanations for these results are discussed.

Parent and teacher perspectives about problem behavior in children with Williams syndrome

Problem behavior of 52 children with Williams syndrome ages 6 to 17 years old was examined based on both parent and teacher report. Generally good inter-rater agreement was found. Common areas of problem behavior based both on parent and teacher report included attention problems, anxiety difficulties, repetitive behaviors (e.g., obsessions, compulsions, picking nose or skin), and social problems, reflecting a robust behavioral phenotype in Williams syndrome present across contexts. Some rater differences were observed; most notably, parents reported more attention and mood difficulties than did teachers, while teachers reported more oppositionality and aggression than did parents. Relations to intellectual functioning, age, and gender were examined. The implications of the findings for understanding the behavioral phenotype associated with Williams syndrome are discussed.

Mental health in migrant schoolchildren in Italy: teacher-reported behavior and emotional problems

The migration process is a cause of physical and social stressors that may lead to mental health problems, particularly in children. In Italy, there are few studies about migrant children's mental health; thus, the aim of this study is to compare the prevalence and types of emotional and behavioral problems in migrant schoolchildren to those of native Italian children. The research involved migrant (first- and second-generation) and native schoolchildren attending kindergarten, primary, and secondary school. A questionnaire was administered to parents to collect information about the sociodemographic characteristics of the children. All teachers filled in the Teacher's Report Form for migrant and native children. The findings show that teachers detect academic and adaptive problems more easily in migrant schoolchildren, but they are probably less aware of the children's psychological problems. The observations made in this study provide a starting point in understanding the psychological status and main problems noted among migrant children.

Parent and teacher rating of bilingual language proficiency and language development concerns

Educators of young children, including speech-language pathologists, are often uncertain as how to effectively work with children from diverse backgrounds because they do not know enough about cultural and linguistic diversity and its impact on language development. The current study helps to address this gap by examining the validity of parent and teacher report in determining language proficiency and language ability in prekindergarten and kindergarten age children from Spanish-English bilingual backgrounds. Parents and teachers rated child language proficiency and ability in Spanish and English. Results indicate that teachers and parents were reliable informants on English language proficiency, but only the parents reliably rated children's Spanish proficiency. Both teacher and parent report were significantly correlated to child language ability. Teachers' ratings of ability correlated with morphosyntax performance while parents' ratings correlated with their child's broad language performance. For clinical and educational decision making, we emphasize the importance of understanding bilingual children's language use across languages and contexts by incorporating both parent and teacher observations.

Assessment of daily profiles of ADHD and ODD symptoms, and symptomatology related to ADHD medication, by parent and teacher ratings

DAYAS is a new two-part rating scale that assesses: (1) ADHD and ODD symptoms (externalising symptom ratings) and (2) symptomatology potentially related to ADHD medication (potentially medication-related symptoms) in real-world settings at different time periods throughout a normal school day. Data from a proof-of-concept study and two observational trials (Medikinet(®) retard [methylphenidate] and the Equasym XL(®) [methylphenidate] OBSEER study) evaluated: (1) validity of weekly externalising symptom ratings using DAYAS, in place of daily ratings; (2) reliability and internal consistency of DAYAS ratings for externalising symptoms and potentially medication-related symptoms; and (3) convergent and divergent validity of the externalising symptom ratings with existing validated scales. From the proof-of-concept study, daily scores by period of day and during the whole day correlated strongly with equivalent weekly scores (r = 0.83-0.92). Internal consistency of externalising symptom rating scales calculated from pooled data were acceptable or good by period of day (Cronbach's alpha = 0.68-0.90) and very high for whole day scores (Cronbach's alpha = 0.88-0.95). Internal consistency of the rating scale for potentially medication-related symptoms was also good for both teacher and parent ratings. From OBSEER data, correlations between FBB-ADHD total symptom scores and ratings on both parent and teacher versions of DAYAS were high (r = 0.73 and r = 0.84, respectively). Correlations between DAYAS and SDQ were highest for the SDQ subscales hyperactivity and conduct problems and substantially lower for pro-social behaviour, peers and emotional problems. The DAYAS rating scale had good internal consistency, and DAYAS scores correlated well with existing validated scales and the SDQ subscales hyperactivity and conduct problems. Weekly DAYAS scores (whole day and by period of day) could be considered a suitable replacement for daily assessment scores.

Teacher report and direct assessment of preferences for identifying reinforcers for young children

Teachers were asked to identify and rank 10 preferred stimuli for 9 toddlers, and a hierarchy of preference for these items was determined via a direct preference assessment. The reinforcing efficacy of the most highly preferred items identified by each method was evaluated concurrently in a reinforcer assessment. The reinforcer assessment showed that all stimuli identified as highly preferred via the direct preference assessment and teacher rankings functioned as reinforcers. The highest ranked stimuli in the direct assessment were more reinforcing than the teachers' top-ranked stimuli for 5 of 9 participants, whereas the teachers' top-ranked stimulus was more reinforcing than the highest ranked stimulus of the direct assessment for only 1 child. A strong positive correlation between rankings generated through the two assessments was identified for only 1 of the 9 participants. Despite poor correspondence between rankings generated through the teacher interview and direct preference assessment, results of the reinforcer assessment suggest that both methods are effective in identifying reinforcers for toddlers.