Gender disparities in parental linguistic engagement and in children's language development

IF 9 1区心理学 Q1 PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATIONAL

Learning and Individual Differences Pub Date : 2025-03-19 DOI:10.1016/j.lindif.2025.102679

Lilas Gurgand , Hugo Peyre , Franck Ramus

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Girls tend to outperform boys in language development and literacy, but the reasons behind this remain unclear, particularly whether the family environment plays a role. This study examines gender differences in parental linguistic engagement and its effect on language outcomes. Using data from the French birth cohort Elfe (ranging from 14,000 children for early outcomes to 4000 for later outcomes), parental questionnaires assessed linguistic engagement from ages 1 to 5. Children's language outcomes were measured via the McArthur-Bates CDI at age 2, and language and literacy tests in preschool and first grade. Analyses showed that parents engaged more with girls than boys (standardized β = 0.10 to 0.17), and this engagement partially mediated the relationship between sex and language outcomes (mediation 6 % to 19 %). These findings suggest that parental language engagement contributes to sex differences in language development, with implications for designing interventions that ensure equitable language opportunities for all children.

Educational relevance statement

This study explores how parental linguistic engagement differs between boys and girls and how it influences children's language development. By analyzing data from a large French birth cohort, we found that parents tend to engage more with girls than boys in early childhood, and this increased engagement partly explains why girls often perform better in language and literacy skills. These findings suggest that parental linguistic engagement contributes to gender differences in language development and suggest that targeted interventions may help bridge the gap, ensuring that both boys and girls have equal opportunities to develop strong language skills, which are essential for academic success and lifelong learning.

查看原文本刊更多论文

父母语言参与与儿童语言发展中的性别差异

女孩在语言发展和读写能力方面往往优于男孩，但背后的原因尚不清楚，尤其是家庭环境是否起了作用。本研究探讨了父母语言投入的性别差异及其对语言结果的影响。使用法国出生队列Elfe的数据（从14,000名儿童的早期结果到4,000名儿童的后期结果），父母问卷评估了1至5岁的语言参与情况。儿童的语言成绩是通过2岁时的麦克阿瑟-贝茨CDI测试和学龄前和一年级的语言和识字测试来衡量的。分析表明，父母与女孩的交往多于与男孩的交往（标准化β = 0.10至0.17），这种交往在一定程度上调解了性别和语言成绩之间的关系（调解6%至19%）。这些发现表明，父母的语言参与会导致语言发展中的性别差异，这对设计干预措施以确保所有儿童获得平等的语言机会具有启示意义。教育相关性陈述本研究探讨了父母语言投入在男孩和女孩之间的差异，以及它如何影响儿童的语言发展。通过分析大量法国出生队列的数据，我们发现，在儿童早期，父母与女孩的接触往往比男孩多，这种接触的增加部分解释了为什么女孩通常在语言和读写技能方面表现更好。这些发现表明，父母的语言参与导致了语言发展中的性别差异，并表明有针对性的干预可能有助于弥合差距，确保男孩和女孩都有平等的机会发展强大的语言技能，这对学业成功和终身学习至关重要。

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来源期刊

Learning and Individual Differences PSYCHOLOGY, EDUCATIONAL-

CiteScore

6.60

自引率

2.80%

发文量

期刊介绍： Learning and Individual Differences is a research journal devoted to publishing articles of individual differences as they relate to learning within an educational context. The Journal focuses on original empirical studies of high theoretical and methodological rigor that that make a substantial scientific contribution. Learning and Individual Differences publishes original research. Manuscripts should be no longer than 7500 words of primary text (not including tables, figures, references).