Researchers look at vocabularies of wealthy and poor children

Feb 15, 2014 13:13 GMT  ·  By
Children from low-SES families more likely to struggle with vocabulary efficiency than peers in high-SES families
   Children from low-SES families more likely to struggle with vocabulary efficiency than peers in high-SES families

Researchers at the Stanford University, led by psychology professor Dr. Anne Fernald recently conducted a new study on the language development of children from families with both higher and lower socioeconomic statuses (SES). The group found that kids from low-SES families were well behind their peers when it came to language skills. 

Fernald and her group were able to determine that, at age 5, children from low-SES families were up to two years behind their high-SES peers when it came to the wealth of words they used. The team also found that the origins of this difference can be tracked back to early infancy, PsychCentral reports.

For example, at age 18 months, vocabulary and real-time language processing efficiency was lower in low-SES children when compared to their peers whose families fared better off economically. By the age of 24 months, the gap increased to as much as 6 months, the researchers say.

The findings highlight the need for lower-income, less-educated parents to engage with their children more often, and expose them to a comprehensive list of words and word-processing tasks as early on as possible. Otherwise, their children run the risk of struggling to catch up to their peers throughout their years in school.