Mental state verb use in play by preschool-age children who stutter and their mothers

Preschool-age children use mental state verbs (MSVs; e.g., think, know) to reference thoughts and other cognitive states. In play-based language, MSV use requires conversational flexibility, as speakers shift from discussion of actions happening in the here-and-now to more abstract discussion of mental states. Some evidence suggests that children who stutter (CWS) demonstrate subtle differences in shifting on experimental tasks of cognitive flexibility, differences which may extend to conversational flexibility. This study explored MSV use in conversational language between CWS and their mothers. Thirty-five preschool-age CWS and 35 age- and gender-matched children who do not stutter (CWNS), all performing within the typical range on standardized language testing, conversed with their mothers during play. Samples were transcribed and coded for MSV use. No between-group differences were observed in MSV use, either between the CWS and CWNS or between the groups of mothers. Age and language skills were positively associated with MSV use in the CWNS group only. For both groups of dyads, mothers’ MSV use corresponded at least to some extent to their children’s language skills. Finally, correspondence between CWNS and their mothers was observed for two conversational language measures, representing lexical diversity and morphosyntax; this overall pattern was not observed in the CWS dyad group. Although these findings point to similar use of MSVs among the groups of children and their mothers, for the CWS group, the patterns of use in relation to age and language skills are somewhat different from developmental expectations. •Mental state verbs reference thoughts and other cognitive states.•Children produced mental state verbs “think” and “know” most frequently.•Children who stutter did not differ from peers in mental state verb use.•Age and language skills were related to MSV use in CWNS group but not CWS group.