Degree Name
MS (Master of Science)
Program
Communicative Disorders
Date of Award
5-2007
Committee Chair or Co-Chairs
Kerry Proctor-Williams
Committee Members
Nancy Scherer, Wallace E. Dixon Jr.
Abstract
Premature children are at greater risk for developing communication delays than full-term children, although it is not inevitable. Recent research links specific temperament characteristics to early language development. Thus, temperament may provide a way to identify premature children who are at increased risk. The first purpose of this study was to determine if temperament characteristics of premature children are the same as full-term children when measured by the Infant Behavior Questionnaire-Revised. The second purpose was to determine if temperament and language acquisition, as measured by the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory: Words and Gestures, are linked in premature infants and, if so, are the relationships similar to those of full-term populations. Participants included 19 children 8-12 months, chronological age. Results indicated that they exhibited similar temperament characteristics to full-term children. Additionally, temperament was linked to vocabulary comprehension and, unlike findings for full-term children, to expressive communication as well .
Document Type
Thesis - unrestricted
Recommended Citation
King, Nina, "Temperament and Early Communication in Premature Children." (2007). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. Paper 2091. https://dc.etsu.edu/etd/2091
Copyright
Copyright by the authors.