Latino Mothers’ Responsiveness and Bilingual Language Development in Young Children from 24 to 36 Months

This longitudinal study examined the role maternal responsiveness had on shaping Spanish and English language development in bilingual 2-year-old children. Eight im/migrant Latino mother–child dyads (age: time 1: M = 23.25 months, SD = 3.34; time 2: M = 30.13 months, SD = 4.14; time 3: M = 35.13, SD = 4.34) were observed and assessed at three time points. Regression and linear mixed modeling were used in order to assess which maternal responsive behaviors impacted Spanish and English language outcomes. Results indicated joint topic focus as being overwhelmingly impactful across times 2 and times 3 in both languages. Prohibition negatively influenced English outcomes at times 2 and times 3. Interestingly, focus shift had a positive impact on English outcomes at time 2. This work sheds light on the similarities and differences between cultures and the need for further research surrounding this population.