The Relationship Between Language and Social Competence in 3- to 5-Year-Old Children at Risk of and Without Developmental Language Disorder

TL;DR

This study explores how language skills in young children relate to their social abilities, focusing on those at risk of language disorders.

Contribution

The study identifies specific social dependence in children at risk of DLD and links pragmatic and narrative skills to social adjustment.

Findings

Children at risk of DLD showed greater dependence on adults compared to peers.

Pragmatic and narrative skills were linked to better social adjustment.

No significant differences were found in other social competence areas between groups.

Abstract

Developmental language disorder (DLD) is associated with persistent language difficulties that may impact social competence. The aim of this study is to describe the relationship between language, pragmatics, and social competence in French-speaking preschoolers and to identify the specific social competence difficulties observed in children at risk of DLD at this age. The sample included 63 children aged between 36 and 59 months, 12 of whom were at risk of having DLD. Children were assessed using measures of vocabulary, morphosyntax, pragmatic skills, and narrative abilities, while childcare educators completed a questionnaire evaluating social competence. Results revealed that children at risk for DLD exhibited more characteristics related to dependence on adults compared to their peers without DLD. No significant group differences were observed for the other components of social competence. The findings also identified a relationship between pragmatic and personal narrative skills, and social adjustment. These findings support the social adaptation model, suggesting that functional social impacts in children with DLD may arise from limited language abilities rather than an intrinsic socio-emotional disorder. This study highlights the importance of early pragmatic and narrative development in supporting social competence from the preschool age.