Children's Emotional Regulation and Language Development Link to Role of Parents In Communicating With Their Kids

Children and adolescents experience casual difficulties expressing themselves and communicating with others as they develop. The challenges on these aspects usually manifest at an early age while growing up. However, an increase of the difficulties is observed from the age groups diagnosed with a developmental language disorder. The condition affects over seven percent of the total child population.

Emotional Regulation During Childhood and Adolescence

A new study led by scholars from the Cognition and Language Research Group or GRECIL examined the various types of emotional regulation detected in both the children and adolescent age groups diagnosed with specific language impairment / developmental language disorder (SLI/DLD). The study was made in part by the efforts from the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya's eHealth Center and the University of Barcelona.

NeuroDevelop eHealth Lab and psychology expert Nadia Ahufinger, who authored the study, said in a EurekAlert report that there are only a few studies that focus on the assessment of social and emotional dimension of the younger population, including children and adolescents, who have SLI/DLD. That is why their team wanted to develop their own research that will dig deep into the population's emotional regulation.

According to studies, one in every 14 children experiences a developmental language disorder. Experts theorize that the language deficit that shows up in this kind of condition is not induced by other factors such as Down's syndrome or other intellectual disabilities. However, a significant impact is observed in affected children in terms of daily and academic activities.

In a series of receptive and expressive vocabulary examinations relayed to over 50 children and adolescents, experts found that emotional regulation between the male and female and non-SLI/DLD patients are similar. In addition, kids diagnosed with SLI/DLD during childhood have a greater chance of encountering challenges as they regulate their emotions.

Aguilera explained that when they assessed the correlation between the emotional regulation and language of the children, it was found that the expressive vocabulary from ages 5 to 7 will most likely predict their emotional regulation four years later. This link is not observed during adolescence.

Parents, Communication, and Emotion Awareness

The authors also considered the environmental factors surrounding the subjects. These environments are the usual places where kids have developed and grown during their childhood and adolescence. Experts believe that aside from the place, the role of the parents is a driving aspect to the development of their children's emotions.

There has been a slight trend in emotional regulation during pre-school years in the study, even though there are no discrepancies between the SLI/DLD patients and non-patients. Aguilera said that kids with the condition are known to be less empathetic. They are challenged to determine the emotion projected by other people, and even show their own emotions. Ahufinger explained that self-expression through language and vocabulary could still help the kids regulate their emotions better.

Bad communication between parents and children are also triggering language difficulties in kids. Misunderstandings begin when parents do not have the time to converse over specified disorders, leading to an even more pressing issue. The research highlights how important family contexts are in a child's emotional development.

Although both male and female subjects were tested, no huge differences were recorded in their emotional regulation. The gender difference of children is not correlated to their conditions. However, when the parents were required to answer an emotional regulation questionnaire, more mothers participated compared to fathers, considering that any of the two can fill up the test papers.

It highlights how child-rearing responsibilities rely mainly on mothers. The authors said that fathers should be acknowledged and educated for them to reconsider their roles as parents for their children, changing how our patriarchal society works and equating the childcare burden commonly lifted alone by mothers. The study was published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, titled "Vocabulary Abilities and Parents' Emotional Regulation Predict Emotional Regulation in School-Age Children but Not Adolescents With and Without Developmental Language Disorder."

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