The Association Between Family Resources and Language Among Young Children Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.
Julia Townsend, Cassandra Conrad, Sara Williams and 2 others
PMID 37871279WHAT IT FOUND
Parents reporting better access to health necessities had children with higher language scores.
These associations were strongest in children with mild to moderate hearing loss, but absent in those with severe to profound loss.
Key findings
01A positive correlation was found between the Necessities in Health Family Resource Scale subscale and receptive language scores, expressive language scores, and the language ratio.
02When stratified by hearing loss degree, positive correlations were observed between language scores and Family Resource Scale subscales among children with mild to moderately-severe hearing loss, but not among children with severe to profound hearing levels.
03The total Family Resource Scale score was strongly positively correlated with household income level and moderately positively correlated with the educational level of the mother and father.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The study was cross-sectional, so it cannot determine if family resources cause better language outcomes or if other factors explain the association. The sample was not diverse; caregivers were predominantly white and highly educated, limiting generalizability. The study was exploratory and did not adjust for multiple testing, increasing the risk of false-positive findings. Data on resource adequacy was self-reported by parents, which may be subject to reporting bias. The subgroup with severe to profound hearing loss was small (n=33) and showed no significant associations, making it difficult to draw conclusions about this population. The negative correlation between 'Physical Necessities and Shelter' and language outcomes is counter-intuitive and may be due to limited variability in scores, as most families reported adequate shelter.
Declared interests
The authors declare no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume that improving family resources will directly improve language outcomes in children with severe to profound hearing loss. The study found no significant association between resources and language performance in this subgroup, suggesting that auditory access and early intervention may play a more dominant role than socioeconomic resources in these cases.