Open AccessIndividual and cumulative risk factors in developmental language disorder: A case-control study
Author(s) -
Florence Valade,
MarieJulie Béliveau,
Chantale Breault,
Benjamin Chabot,
Fannie Labelle
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
clinical child psychology and psychiatry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.654
H-Index - 54
eISSN - 1461-7021
pISSN - 1359-1045
DOI - 10.1177/13591045221113389
Subject(s) - logistic regression , psychology , cumulative risk , medicine , etiology , cumulative incidence , developmental psychology , clinical psychology , psychiatry , transplantation
Many mental disorders (MD) share common etiology, fuelling debates about the specificity of clinical categories and whether the presence of specific risk factors (RF) can distinguish among them. The study of developmental language disorder (DLD), more specifically, has been further hindered by a lack of consensus regarding its definition. These limitations increase the risk of under-detection and lifelong consequences for affected children. This paper aims (1) to document which individual RF allow differentiating DLD from other MD and (2) to compare the cumulative RF between children with DLD versus other MD. This case-control design study used medical records of a psychiatric sample of 795 preschoolers (mean age 4:11, 75% boys). A logistic regression measured the predictive value of potential RF on DLD. Later first sentences, maternal immigration and family history of language delay were identified as significant in explaining 30% of the variance for DLD diagnosis. An ANCOVA revealed that children with DLD were exposed to a significantly higher number of RF than were children with other MD. Public health policies informed with the knowledge of specific RF associated with DLD, and their cumulative impact, could improve early detection and reduce the cascade of negative consequences associated with DLD.