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Social cognition impairments may explain social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in individuals with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). In a novel approach, the Social Attribution Task (SAT) was used to examine this association. SAT narratives were coded from 53 participants [n = 26 DLD; n = 27 typical language development (TLD)] matched on age (Mage = 13;6) and gender (35.9% female). Parents reported SEBD. Adolescents with DLD performed worse than their TLD peers on the majority of SAT indices and had higher peer (d = 1.09) and emotional problems (d =.75). There was no association between social cognition abilities and SEBD. These exploratory findings suggest social cognition should be further examined in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Adolescents with a history of language difficulties are at risk for increased social and emotional difficulties; however, the pathways involved are unclear. We examine the contribution of poor emotion regulation by comparing longitudinal data from children at risk of developmental language disorder (rDLD) and the general population. Method: Data from the Millennium Cohort Study were analyzed at ages 3, 5, 7, 11, and 14 years. The rDLD group (children with parent-reported difficulties and/or a score of −1.5 SDs on the Naming Vocabulary subtest at age 5 years) was compared to a general population group on parent reports of emotion regulation, peer problems, and emotional problems. Results: In line with the established literature, increased socioemotional problems in individuals with language difficulties were reported. Poor emotion regulation consistently predicted subsequent peer and emotional problems throughout development in both groups. Stronger cross-lag effects were found in the rDLD group for poor emotion regulation at age 3 years predicting age 5 years emotional problems and age 5 years emotional problems predicting age 7 years emotion regulation difficulties. Stronger reciprocal cross-lag effects were also observed in the rDLD group between peer and emotional problems at ages 3 and 5 years. No significant group differences were found in adolescence. Conclusions: Poor emotion regulation makes a small but significant contribution to later peer and emotional difficulties, and this relationship is stronger in children at rDLD. Early reciprocal peer and emotional difficulties are also stronger in the rDLD group, but these effects dissipate in midchildhood. Nevertheless, the consistent relationship between early emotion regulation difficulties and socioemotional problems throughout development warrants further investigation in individuals with lower language skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study evaluated the pathways between developmental language disorder (DLD), psychosocial risk factors, and the development of emotional difficulties from ages 3 to 11 years within the Millennium Cohort Study. Method: A total of 14,494 singletons (49.4% female) from the Millennium Cohort Study were evaluated within this study. Risk of DLD (rDLD) was defined as age 5 parent-reported language problems and/or -1.5 SDs on a Naming Vocabulary subtest at the age of 5 years. Children without rDLD formed the general population comparison group. Psychosocial risk factors included 9-month temperamental traits, parental psychological distress, and maternal attachment as well as age 3 emotional regulation abilities, parent-child relationship, and peer problems. The parent report Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire Emotional Difficulty subscale at 3, 5, 7, and 11 years of age was the outcome variable. The trajectory of emotional difficulties was evaluated within a variable-centered approach and a person-centered approach, using growth mixture modeling. Results: Children with rDLD (n = 884) had increased levels of emotional problems when compared to the general population group (n = 13,344). Psychosocial risk factors were increased in children with rDLD, fully mediated the increased emotional difficulties at 3 years, and partially mediated the increased emotional difficulties at 11 years. Children with rDLD were more likely to be included in emotional trajectory subgroups with an increasing pattern of emotional problems. rDLD was an additional risk factor for lower levels of emotional selfregulation and increased peer problems when controlling for the emotional difficulties trajectory subgroup. Conclusion: This article indicates that the increased emotional difficulties found in children with rDLD are likely a function of early language difficulties influencing other domains of development, specifically social interactions (parent and peer) and emotional self-regulation abilities. Clinically, this reiterates the importance of early identification and treatment of children with language delays or clinical level language disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]