Language Comprehension Disorders and Depressive and Anxious Symptoms: A Longitudinal Study From School Entry to Grade 9.

Abstract

PURPOSE Impairments in language development are among the most common developmental disorders in childhood. Because language skills are of great importance for many different areas of life, especially for learning and psychosocial development, findings on the association between language problems and the experience of psychological stress are necessary. This study therefore aims to investigate the extent to which children with language comprehension problems at the start of school differ from children without language problems in terms of their psychological stress at the end of their school years. In addition, the effects of behavioral problems at the start of school on the mental health of students with language problems will be examined. METHOD Data of N = 488 primary school students in Germany are used to answer and evaluate these questions at three different measurement points: the start of school (T0), the end of the first school year (T1), and the end of the ninth grade (T2). It was possible to identify a subsample of n = 51 children who exhibited deficiencies in language comprehension at the first wave. RESULTS The results show that children with problems in language development reported more depressive symptoms, manifest anxiety, and test anxiety at the end of their school career. In addition, various externalizing behavioral problems (including hyperactivity and problems with peers) were also found to be predictive of psychological stress. CONCLUSION This study highlights that students with impairments in language development are particularly vulnerable for maladaptive psychosocial development throughout primary and secondary education.