BackgroundDiagnosis of ‘specific’ language impairment traditionally required nonverbal IQ to be within normal limits, often resulting in restricted access to clinical services for children with lower NVIQ. Changes to DSM‐5 criteria for language disorder removed this NVIQ requirement. This study sought to delineate the impact of varying NVIQ criteria on prevalence, clinical presentation and functional impact of language disorder in the first UK population study of language impairment at school entry.MethodsA population‐based survey design with sample weighting procedures was used to estimate population prevalence. We surveyed state‐maintained reception classrooms (n = 161 or 61% of eligible schools) in Surrey, England. From a total population of 12,398 children (ages 4–5 years), 7,267 (59%) were screened. A stratified subsample (n = 529) received comprehensive assessment of language, NVIQ, social, emotional and behavioural problems, and academic attainment.ResultsThe total population prevalence estimate of language disorder was 9.92% (95% CI 7.38, 13.20). The prevalence of language disorder of unknown origin was estimated to be 7.58% (95% CI 5.33, 10.66), while the prevalence of language impairment associated with intellectual disability and/or existing medical diagnosis was 2.34% (95% CI 1.40, 3.91). Children with language disorder displayed elevated symptoms of social, emotional and behavioural problems relative to peers, F(1, 466) = 7.88, p = .05, and 88% did not make expected academic progress. There were no differences between those with average and low‐average NVIQ scores in severity of language deficit, social, emotional and behavioural problems, or educational attainment. In contrast, children with language impairments associated with known medical diagnosis and/or intellectual disability displayed more severe deficits on multiple measures.ConclusionsAt school entry, approximately two children in every class of 30 pupils will experience language disorder severe enough to hinder academic progress. Access to specialist clinical services should not depend on NVIQ.

The results support the notion that gesture and language form a tightly linked communication system in which gesture deficits are seen alongside difficulties with spoken communication. Furthermore, it is the quality, not quantity of gestures that distinguish children with LI from typical peers.

Background: Specific Language impairment (SLI) is diagnosed when language is

Measuring executive function (EF) among adults is important, as the cognitive processes involved in EF are critical to academic achievement, job success and mental health. Current evidence on measurement and structure of EF largely come from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic (WEIRD) countries. However, measuring EF in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) is challenging, because of the dearth of EF measures validated across LMICs, particularly measures that do not require extensive training, expensive equipment, or professional administration. This paper uses data from three LMIC cohorts to test the feasibility, validity and reliability of EF assessment in adults using three sub-tests (representing key components of EF) of the NIH Toolbox Cognitive battery. For each cohort, all three EF measures (inhibition, flexibility and working memory) loaded well onto a unidimensional latent factor of EF. Factor scores related well to measures of fluid intelligence, processing speed and schooling. All measures showed good test-retest reliability across countries. This study provides evidence for a set of sound measures of EF that could be used across different cultural, language and socio-economic backgrounds in future LMIC research. Furthermore, our findings extend conclusions on the structure of EF beyond those drawn from WEIRD countries.

Parent-child interaction plays a crucial role in early language acquisition. In young typically developing children, direct and indirect relationships between parent gesture, child gesture and child language have been observed. Far less is known about these relationships in atypical language development. The present study investigated parent gesture frequency in relation to child gesture frequency and language ability. Parentchild dyads were observed for children aged 6-8 years with developmental language disorder (DLD: n=21) relative to parents of typically developing peers (TD: n=18) and children with low language (LL) and educational concerns (n=21). Parents of children with DLD gestured at significantly higher rates than parents of TD children, but only during a complex interactive problem solving task. Across the entire sample, parent gesture rate was positively correlated with child gesture rate, but negatively correlated with child vocabulary. Parent gesture thus may serve as a strategy to maximise communication success for children with language difficulties and is most evident when communication demands are high.

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Mental health and substance use disorders account for a significant proportion of disability worldwide. In many developing countries like South Africa, mental healthcare services are often inadequate, forcing people to find their own way of coping with distress and give meaning to their experiences. Therefore, this situation necessitates the conceptualisation and characterisation of the quality-of-life indicators, as well as psychosocial strategies to promote mental well-being. The objectives of this study were to assess the psychometric properties of psychological well-being (PWB) measures in the context of urban Soweto. Data were collected from participants in the Birth to Twenty Plus cohort (n = 1327), in 2018–2019. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factor Analyses conducted for measures of hope, faith, social support, general self-efficacy, and life satisfaction were taken from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Toolbox Emotion Battery. Cronbach’s alpha was used to determine internal consistencies; discriminant validity was assessed using Pearson correlations. Test-retest reliability analysis was conducted on a subset of participants at three time points which were at least 2 months apart. Overall, the measures of PWB were characterised as having unidimensional factor structures, good model fit indices, high internal consistency and reliability to the paragraph. This study demonstrated that the PWB measures evaluated here are psychometrically sound, and suitable to be used in the South African context.

Background: Little is known about associations of psychological and mental well-being with cognitive and socioemotional factors in low and middle-income countries, particularly among vulnerable populations born in adverse environments that may restrict developmental potential. This study aimed to examine the cognitive and socioemotional correlates of psychological well-being and mental health in a cohort of Guatemalan adults born in contexts of adversity.Methods: From Dec 2017 to Apr 2019, data were collected from 704 women and 564 men ages 40-57 y living in four rural villages in eastern Guatemala and Guatemala City. We measured latent domains of psychological well-being, spirituality and religion, emotional support, and executive function using Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). Under a Structural Equation Modeling framework, we examined intercorrelations among latent domains and observed measures of intelligence and mental health. Results: CFA supported the construct validity of factor structures in this population. Correlations of psychological well-being with spirituality and religion were moderate in women (r=0.68, p<0.001) and strong in men (r=0.70, p<0.001). Executive function was weakly correlated with psychological well-being in men (r=0.23, p<0.001) and showed no association in women. Correlations of psychological well-being with emotional support and IQ were weak in women (r=0.34, and r=0.15, respectively; p<0.001 for both) and men (r=0.35, and r=0.25, respectively; p<0.001 for both). Mental health and IQ were weakly correlated in men (r=0.09, p<0.05) and showed no association in women. Mental health showed weak correlations with emotional support (r=0.18, p<0.001 in women; r=0.09, p<0.05 in men), psychological well-being (r=0.32 and r=0.35, in women and men respectively; p<0.001 for both) and showed no association with executive function in both sexes.Conclusions: Our findings lay the foundation for advancing the understanding of factors that could contribute to strengthening psychological well-being and mental health in populations living in contexts of adversity. The extent to which spiritual and religious involvement may promote higher levels of psychological well-being merits further investigation.