Effects of prematurity and socio-economic status on early life language exposure : a video coding study

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O’Carroll, Sinéad and Dean, Bethan and Chua, Yu Wei and Ledsham, Victoria and Boardman, James P. and Fletcher-Watson, Sue (2025) Effects of prematurity and socio-economic status on early life language exposure : a video coding study. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. ISSN 0261-510X (https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.70023)

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Abstract

Preterm birth is associated with later language impairment and delay. Socio-economic deprivation is linked to decreased language exposure in early childhood, but it is unknown how prematurity influences this relationship. This study investigated the effects of socio-economic status and gestational age at birth on language exposure, in a sample of 47 preterm and 53 term infant-parent dyads. Videos were coded for parental language and gesture using a novel coding scheme. Video codes revealed no significant differences in the language and gesture used by parents of preterm infants versus term infants during interaction. Socio-economic status was positively correlated with quantity and variety of words used, and mean length of utterance (all r > .25, p < .015). Deprivation, and especially the increased prevalence of deprivation among the preterm population, may be a key factor to consider when examining the risk of language delay for infants born early.

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