The role of maternal responsiveness and linguistic input in pre-academic skill development: A longitudinal analysis of pathways

This prospective, longitudinal study examined the association between maternal responsiveness and linguistic input and children's pre-academic skill development. Further, we assessed the extent to which nascent cognitive and literacy abilities mediated the association between parenting dimensions and pre-academic skills. The sample consisted of 501 mother-child dyads recruited at birth. Maternal responsiveness and linguistic input were coded at 18 months during a shared picturebook reading task. Pre-academic skills were measured at age 4.5 using standardized tests of letter-word identification, reading comprehension, math applied problems, and receptive vocabulary. At age 3, cognitive and literacy mediators included inhibitory control, theory of mind, receptive language, and print recognition. Longitudinal path analyses revealed that both responsiveness and linguistic input made unique contributions to pre-academic outcomes, with linguistic input operating indirectly through cognitive and literacy abilities to a greater extent than responsiveness. Results suggest disparate mechanisms for these parenting dimensions in the facilitation of pre-academic skills.