Gender differences in the relationship between language and social competence in preschool children

• We examined gender differences in the relation between language and social competence.
• 268 preschool children between 18 and 35 months participated in the study.
• Language was more strongly related to social competence in boys than in girls.

The present study examined gender differences in the relation between language and social competence in 268 children aged 18 to 35 months. Correlational and regression analyses demonstrated that the association between expressive language and social ability was significantly stronger in boys than in girls.