PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Julia R Irwin

Publications and source records attributed to Julia R Irwin.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

A sex difference in visual influence on heard speech.

Reports of sex differences in language processing are inconsistent and are thought to vary by task type and difficulty. In two experiments, we investigated a sex difference in visual influence onheard speech (the McGurk effect). First, incongruent consonant-vowel stimuli were presented where the visual portion of the signal was brief (100 msec) or full (temporally equivalent to the auditory). Second, to determine whether men and women differed in their ability to extract visual speech information from these brief stimuli, the same stimuli were presented to new participants with an additional visual-only (lipread) condition. In both experiments, women showed a significantly greater visual influence on heard speech than did men for the brief visual stimuli. No sex differences for the full stimuli or in the ability to lipread were found. These findings indicate that the more challenging brief visual stimuli elicit sex differences in the processing of audiovisual speech.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

The Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment: screening for social-emotional problems and delays in competence.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the reliability and validity of the 42-item Brief Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (BITSEA), a screener for social-emotional/behavioral problems and delays in competence. METHOD: Parents in a representative healthy birth cohort of 1,237 infants aged 12 to 36 months completed the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment (ITSEA)/BITSEA, the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL)/1.5-5, the MacArthur Communication Developmental Inventory vocabulary checklist, and worry questions. In a subsample, independent evaluators rated infant-toddler behavior. RESULTS: Test-retest reliability was excellent and interrater agreement (mother/father and parent/child-care provider) was good. Supporting validity, BITSEA problems correlated with concurrent evaluator problem ratings and CBCL/1.5-5 scores and also predicted CBCL/1.5-5 and ITSEA problem scores one year later. BITSEA measures of competence correlated with concurrent observed competence and predicted later ITSEA competence measures. Supporting discriminant validity, only 23% of high BITSEA problem scorers had delayed vocabulary. Moreover, the combined BITSEA problem/competence cutpoints identified 85% of subclinical/clinical CBCL/1.5-5 scores, while maintaining acceptable specificity (75%). CONCLUSIONS: Findings support the BITSEA as a screener for social-emotional/behavioral problems and delays in social-emotional competence.

Child Behavior Disorders↗
PubMed2003

Language delay in a community cohort of young children.

OBJECTIVE: To document the prevalence of expressive language delay in relation to age and gender in 12- to 39-month-old children. To document the characteristics, particularly social competence and emotional/behavioral problems, related to deficits in expressive language. METHOD: Parents of an age- and sex-stratified random sample of children born at Yale New Haven Hospital between July 1995 and September 1997 who lived in the New Haven Meriden Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area were enrolled when their children were 12 to 39 months of age (79.8% participation;N = 1,189). The main outcome for these analyses is expressive language delay measured by the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory, short forms. RESULTS: Expressive language delays range from 13.5% in 18- to 23-month-olds to 17.5% in children 30 to 36 months of age. By 18 to 23 months, children are more likely to experience delays if they come from environments characterized by low education, low expressiveness, poverty, high levels of parenting stress, and parents who report worry about their children's language problems. When social competence is adjusted for in the multivariable model, behavior problems are no longer associated with language delay, suggesting that poor social competence rather than behavior problems may be the critical early correlate of low expressive language development. CONCLUSIONS: Expressive language delays are prevalent problems that appear to be associated with poor social competence. Given that such problems may be risk factors for social and emotional problems, early identification is critical.

Catchment Area, Health↗
PubMed2002

The social-emotional development of "late-talking" toddlers.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the social-emotional problems and competencies of toddlers who evidenced lags in expressive language without concomitant receptive language delays. METHOD: Maternal report and observation of 14 "late-talking" toddlers was compared with that of 14 control toddlers. Participants were selected on the basis of maternal report of vocabulary production with the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory Short Forms and by direct assessment with the Mullen Scales of Early Learning. Social-emotional functioning was assessed with the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment, the Child Behavior Checklist 1.5-5, and the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-Expanded Form. Toddler affect was observed using the Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment. The Parenting Stress Index Short Form was used to assess maternal stress. RESULTS: Late talkers were rated higher in depression/withdrawal and lower in social relatedness, pretend play/imitation, and compliance on the Infant-Toddler Social and Emotional Assessment and more withdrawn on the Child Behavior Checklist than controls. Observation indicated late talkers were more serious, more depressed/withdrawn, and less interested in play. Late talkers were reported to be lower in socialization on the Vineland. Mothers of late talkers endorsed higher parent-child dysfunction on the Parenting Stress Index. No differences were found for externalizing behaviors or peer relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Early lags in expressive language are associated with poor social-emotional adjustment. Intervention may ameliorate difficulty in linguistic and social-emotional functioning.

Affect↗