Developmental delay in communication among toddlers and its relationship to caregiving behavior among violence-exposed, posttraumatically stressed mothers.
Warm, child-led play from trauma-exposed moms predicts better toddler language, regardless of PTSD severity.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Cohen et al. (2018) watched the toddlers and their moms play for 10 minutes.
All moms had lived through partner violence and had post-traumatic stress.
Researchers scored how sensitive or bossy each mom was. Then they gave the toddlers a language test.
What they found
Kids whose moms were warm and responsive scored higher on language.
Kids whose moms gave lots of commands scored lower.
Surprise: how severe the mom’s PTSD was did not predict language scores.
How this fits with other research
Smith et al. (2023) saw the same link in babies later diagnosed with autism. Warm caregiving boosted language no matter the risk group.
Thurm et al. (2007) found toddler joint attention mattered more than mom behavior for kids with autism. The new study flips the spotlight back to moms, showing caregiver style still counts when trauma is in the picture.
Gabriels et al. (2001) said therapy hours and imitation drive language in ASD toddlers. R et al. add that everyday play style can also move the needle, even without extra therapy.
Why it matters
You can’t change a mom’s trauma history, but you can coach her play style. Teach warm, follow-the-child interaction during routine sessions. Model waiting, imitating, and labeling toys. These small shifts may protect language growth in trauma-exposed families.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to understand if maternal interpersonal violence-related posttraumatic stress disorder (IPV-PTSD) is associated with delayed language development among very young children ("toddlers"). METHODS: Data were collected from 61 mothers and toddlers (ages 12-42 months, mean age = 25.6 months SD = 8.70). Child expressive and receptive language development was assessed by the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (ASQ) communication subscale (ASQCS) that measures language acquisition. Observed maternal caregiving behavior was coded from videos of 10-min free-play interactions via the CARE-Index. Correlations, Mann-Whitney tests, and multiple linear regression were performed. RESULTS: There was no significant association between maternal IPV-PTSD severity and the ASQCS. Maternal IPV-PTSD severity was associated with continuous maternal behavior variables (i.e. sensitive and controlling behavior on the CARE-Index) across the entire sample and regardless of child gender. Maternal sensitivity was positively and significantly associated with the ASQCS. Controlling behavior was negatively and significantly associated with the ASQCS. CONCLUSIONS: Results are consistent with the literature that while maternal IPV-PTSD severity is not associated with child language delays, the quality of maternal interactive behavior is associated both with child language development and with maternal IPV-PTSD severity. Further study is needed to understand if the level of child language development contributes to intergenerational risk or resilience for relational violence and/or victimization.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2018 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2018.04.008