Socio-emotional engagement, joint attention, imitation, and conversation skill: Analysis in typical development and specific language impairment

According to Racine and Carpendale’s constructivist theory, the acquisition of shared linguistic practice is grounded in the development of competence in shared forms of activity such as joint attention which are naturally embedded in socio-emotional engagement. The present study investigated the relationships among socio-emotional engagement, joint attention, imitation, and conversation skill by establishing a model of these relationships in 94 typically developing children (M age = 5;4) and further assessing this model in another group of 93 typically developing children (M age = 5;1) and 30 children with specific language impairment (M age = 5;3). Joint attention and imitation were found to mediate the relationship between socio-emotional engagement and conversation skill.

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