The impact of the home musical environment on infants' language development

Aspasia Papadimitriou; Catherine Smyth; Nina Politimou; Fabia Franco; Lauren Stewart

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101651

The impact of the home musical environment on infants' language development

Infant Behav Dev. 2021 Nov:65:101651. doi: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101651. Epub 2021 Nov 13.

Authors

Aspasia Papadimitriou¹, Catherine Smyth¹, Nina Politimou², Fabia Franco³, Lauren Stewart¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths University of London, 8 Lewisham Way, New Cross, London, SE14 6NW, United Kingdom.
² Department of Psychology and Human Development, UCL Institute of Education, 20 Bedford Way, London, WC1H 0AL, United Kingdom. Electronic address: n.politimou@ucl.ac.uk.
³ Department of Psychology, Middlesex University London, The Burroughs, Hendon, London, NW4 4BT, United Kingdom.

PMID: 34784522
DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101651

Abstract

There is strong evidence that musical engagement influences children's language development but little research has been carried out on the relationship between the home musical environment and language development in infancy. The current study assessed musical exposure at home (including parental singing) and language development in 64 infants (8.5-18 months). Results showed that the home musical environment significantly predicted gesture development. For a subgroup of infants' below 12 months, both parental singing and overall home musical environment score significantly predicted word comprehension. These findings represent the first demonstration that an enriched musical environment in infancy can promote development of communication skills.

Keywords: Home musical environment; Infancy; Language development; Parental singing.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Child
Comprehension
Gestures
Humans
Infant
Language Development
Music*
Parents