The Effects of Maternal Conversational Control On the Language and Social Development of Deaf Children

Abstract

A longitudinal study was conducted of conversational control in 34 dyads of mothers and their children with severe and profound hearing losses. Data were collected when the children averaged 54 months of age and again when they averaged 83 months. The results indicated that maternal control was negatively related to the children's developmental levels. Although maternal control decreased over time, the changes were minimal, and did not appear commensurate with the children's language growth. Controllingfor children's initial level of development, there was some evidence that maternal turn-control was negatively related to the rate of development over time. There was no evidence of a relationship between maternal response-control and developmental rate.