Children are (Still) Communicators Too: Assessing and Advocating for Child-Focused Communication Scholarship.

Abstract

Children have long been overlooked in communication scholarship. Content analysis of research published 14 communication journals (n = 8662) revealed that child representation remains below 4%, with the majority of these publications utilizing adolescent rather than school-age and younger samples. Findings in the current study underscore the importance of valuing children's communication processes. We present a renewed call for children's communication research by arguing for the need to (1) address discipline barriers to child-focused research, (2) pay attention to younger children, (3) expand research methodologies beyond surveys, (4) explore topic-based opportunities for children's communication beyond media and health contexts, and (5) develop and revise communication theories to specifically address children's unique communication capacities, behaviors, and competencies. By addressing these implications, communication scholars can enrich our understanding of human communication across the lifespan and recognize the significant role of children as communicators.