We studied the development of narrative ability yearly in a cross-sectional design from 4 to 10 years. All children were give the same props and underwent the same procedures. Children's narratives were transcribed verbatim, and then coded for number of: words, propositions, episodes and indexes of narrative cohesion and structure. Verbal IQ was controlled as appropriate. Words showed no significant effect for age. Number of propositions and episodes followed nonlinear trajectories of development, and spline regression analyses identified maxima at 8 and 7 years, respectively. However, indexes of cohesion and structure followed linear trajectories of development.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.