The relationship between motor development, gestures and language production in the second year of life: a mediational analysis

Emiddia Longobardi; Pietro Spataro; Clelia Rossi-Arnaud

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2013.10.002

The relationship between motor development, gestures and language production in the second year of life: a mediational analysis

Infant Behav Dev. 2014 Feb;37(1):1-4. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2013.10.002. Epub 2013 Dec 5.

Authors

Emiddia Longobardi¹, Pietro Spataro², Clelia Rossi-Arnaud²

Affiliations

¹ Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Dynamic and Clinical Psychology, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: emiddia.longobardi@uniroma1.it.
² Sapienza University of Rome, Department of Psychology, Rome, Italy.

PMID: 24317372
DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2013.10.002

Abstract

This longitudinal study investigated the relationships between motor, gestural and linguistic abilities using two parent report instruments. Motor skills at 12 months significantly correlated with language production at 16, 20 and 23 months, but these associations were mediated by the use of representational gestures.

Keywords: Gestures; Infancy; Language development; Motor development.

MeSH terms

Female
Gestures*
Humans
Infant
Language Development*
Language*
Linguistics
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Motor Skills / physiology*
Parents
Speech / physiology*