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Why Kids with Language Delays Are More Aggressive
Kids with speech delays rejected by peers
It has been documented that kids who are slower to develop language are more likely to show “externalizing behaviors,” meaning outwardly-focused problems like verbal or physical aggression (as opposed to “internalizing behaviors” like being withdrawn or anxious).
But a new study in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry suggests that aggressive behavior might not be a direct cause of slower language.The researchers see a step in between, and it has to do with peers.
The study followed 615 children from kindergarten to 4th grade. They found that the kids who had average or above average language skills (specifically “receptive” skills, meaning the ability to understand language) showed a decrease in externalizing behaviors as time went on, whereas the ones with lower than average language skills showed an increase.
But they also saw that the better the language skills, the less likely a kid was to experience peer rejection. Not only that, after statistical analysis, the effects of peer rejection seemed to explain the whole phenomenon of aggression. In other words, language delays lead to peer rejection, which then leads to behavioral problems.
I thought that language delays caused kids to act out because when it’s hard to express yourself, it’s frustrating for a child. But this study is suggesting that it’s not necessarily the language delay itself, but how the child is received that is the start of the problem.
Image: Flickr/Lance Neilson
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[...] Why Kids with Language Delays are More Aggressive [...]
Why Our Brain Tricks Us into Worrying About the Wrong Stuff: Child Safety and Health Kids | Strollerderby commented on Sep 20 10 at 3:30 pm[...] Why Kids with Language Delays are More Aggressive [...]
Naps: Amazing Things to do With Baby Sleeping | Strollerderby commented on Sep 20 10 at 5:16 pm[...] Why Kids with Language Delays are More Aggressive [...]
F.D.A. Says Sleep Positioners Used to Prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome are Dangerous | Strollerderby commented on Sep 29 10 at 5:53 pmmbaker commented on Sep 18 10 at 7:02 pmMy son was a late talker compared to a lot of his friends. Until he was able to talk he would get frustrated trying to communicate and would act out physically.
I think there is a link between physical aggression and poorer communication skills.
Linda commented on Sep 18 10 at 9:44 pmI think that there is also a parenting piece to the puzzle. I’ve know several families with speech delayed kids and while all the kids were more aggressive than was typical while the kids were still in preschool, as they aged, the parents who disciplined their children when they behaved aggressively, ended up doing much better than the parents who said, “Oh, he does that because he’s speech delayed.” If my preschooler has just been trounced by your preschooler, he doesn’t care at that particular moment whether or not your child has a speech delay. He cares that someone cares about his feelings and is willing to comfort him and tell the other child that behavior is not okay.
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