The impact of the home musical environment on infants’ language development

Tools

Papadimitriou, Aspasia; Smyth, Catherine; Politimou, Nina; Franco, Fabia and Stewart, Lauren. 2021. The impact of the home musical environment on infants’ language development. Infant Behavior and Development, 65, 101651. ISSN 0163-6383 [Article]

Preview

Text
Polytimou_InfBehDev_manuscript.pdf - Accepted Version
Available under License Creative Commons Attribution Non-commercial No Derivatives.
Download (648kB) | Preview

Official URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/...

Abstract or Description

There is strong evidence that musical engagement influences children’s language development but little research has been carried out on the relationship between the home musical environment and language development in infancy. The current study assessed musical exposure at home (including parental singing) and language development in 64 infants (8.5–18 months). Results showed that the home musical environment significantly predicted gesture development. For a subgroup of infants’ below 12 months, both parental singing and overall home musical environment score significantly predicted word comprehension. These findings represent the first demonstration that an enriched musical environment in infancy can promote development of communication skills.

Item Type:

Article

Identification Number (DOI):

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101651

Additional Information:

This work was supported by the Society for Education and Music Psychology Research [Arnold Bentley Fund, 2018].

Keywords:

Home musical environment, Parental singing, Language development, Infancy

Departments, Centres and Research Units:

Psychology

Dates: