%0 Journal Article
%T Inferential Comprehension Abilities in French-Speaking Preschoolers Exposed to Neglect in the Early Longitudinal Language and Neglect Study.
%A Filiatrault-Veilleux P
%A Desmarais C
%A Bouchard C
%A Esau B
%A Sylvestre A
%J J Speech Lang Hear Res
%V 67
%N 6
%D 2024 Jun 6
%M 38648562
%F 2.674
%R 10.1044/2024_JSLHR-23-00484
%X UNASSIGNED: Using a longitudinal design, this study aimed to describe inferential comprehension abilities of neglected French-speaking preschool children from 42 to 66 months of age in comparison to non-neglected peers, to examine the association with receptive vocabulary, and to determine whether rates of change in inferential abilities over time was stable between the two group conditions.
UNASSIGNED: An inferential comprehension task and the French version of the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Fourth Edition were administered to a group of neglected children (n = 37-40) and to a group of same-age non-neglected children (n = 71-91) at 42, 54, and 66 months old, as part of the Early Longitudinal Language and Neglect study.
UNASSIGNED: Results show that children exposed to neglect obtain significantly lower scores compared to their same-age peers on inferential comprehension and receptive vocabulary measures at all three time points (p < .001) with large to very large effect sizes and indicate moderate to strong correlations between the two variables. Children from the neglected group present difficulties in inferencing compared to same-age non-neglected peers, a disadvantage that remains stable over time.
UNASSIGNED: This study demonstrates the significant gap in inferential comprehension abilities between neglected and non-neglected preschool children. These results reiterate the importance of early detection of language comprehension difficulties in young children coming from vulnerable environments.