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Preschoolers’ vocabulary acquisition in Chile: the roles of socioeconomic status and quality of home environment

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 September 2017

Regina T. LOHNDORF ,
Harriet. J. VERMEER ,
Rodrigo A. CÁRCAMO  and
Judi MESMAN
Regina T. LOHNDORF
Affiliation:
Leiden University, the Netherlands, and University of Magallanes, Chile
Harriet. J. VERMEER*
Affiliation:
Leiden University, the Netherlands, and University of Magallanes, Chile
Rodrigo A. CÁRCAMO
Affiliation:
Leiden University, the Netherlands, and University of Magallanes, Chile
Judi MESMAN
Affiliation:
Leiden University, the Netherlands, and University of Magallanes, Chile
*
Address for correspondence: H. Vermeer, Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, Wassernaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, The Netherlands. e-mail: vermeer@FSW.leidenuniv.nl
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Abstract

Preschoolers’ vocabulary acquisition sets the stage for later reading ability and school achievement. This study examined the role of socioeconomic status (SES) and the quality of the home environment of seventy-seven Chilean majority and Mapuche minority families from low and lower-middle-class backgrounds in explaining individual differences in vocabulary acquisition of their three-and-a-half-year-old children. Additionally, we investigated whether the relation between SES and receptive and expressive vocabulary was mediated by the quality of the home environment as the Family Investment Model suggests. The quality of the home environment significantly predicted receptive and expressive vocabulary above and beyond ethnicity, SES, parental caregiver status, and quantity of daycare. Furthermore, the quality of the home environment mediated the relation between SES and expressive and receptive vocabulary acquisition.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Child Language , Volume 45 , Issue 3 , May 2018 , pp. 559 - 580
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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Footnotes

This study was made possible by a grant awarded to the first author by the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile (CONICYT, Becas Chile). We would like to thank JUNJI (Junta Nacional de Jardines Infantiles - National Council of Daycare Centers) and INTEGRA (National Network of Nursery Schools and Kindergartens) of the Araucanía region for tirelessly supporting our study. We furthermore thank the School of Psychology of the Universidad Autónoma Temuco for their collaboration.

References

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