Female caregivers talk more to 18-56-months-old children with and without hearing impairment than male caregivers measured with LENA™ – A cross-sectional pilot study

• Published in: International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology 2020-03, Vol.130, p.109809-109809, Article 109809
• Main Authors: Kristensen, Nina Melsom, Sundby, Catharina Fallet, Hauge, Mai Nayeli, Löfkvist, Ulrika
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Caregivers; Children; Gender differences; Hearing impairment; Home environment; Medicin och hälsovetenskap; Number of words
• ISSN: 0165-5876; 1872-8464; 1872-8464
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijporl.2019.109809

The objective of the current study was to investigate possible differences in word count use per day (number of adult words) by caregivers of different gender, in a sample of Norwegian children (N = 17) with hearing impairment (HI) (n = 8) and normal hearing (NH) (n = 9), aged 18–56 months. The current study had a cross-sectional, descriptive study design. One all-day recording with the LENA technology was conducted to measure adult word use in the home environment (Md length: 12.46 h, 9.13–16 h). Female caregivers used a significantly higher amount of words than male caregivers close to the children, regardless of their hearing status, HI: p = .01, NH: p = .01. All children were exposed to a higher number of adult words from female caregivers. There is a need to conduct more and further research about possible caregiver differences, and investigate not only the quantity of word use, but also the qualitative interaction patterns between caregivers of different gender and young children with HI, and in relation to early intervention actions.