Introduction

1. Gender Differences in Relationships Between Language Ability and Aggression in Toddlerhood and School-Age Academic AchievementLauretta M. Brennan, Daniel S. Shaw, Kathleen Reardon, and Katherine L. RifeUniversity of Pittsburgh Introduction Method Results cont’d • Early Childhood Characteristics and Academic Achievement • Research has demonstrated continuity between toddler-age language ability and school-age academic achievement (Rescorla, 2002) • Findings have also shown consistent links between early childhood sociodemographic characteristics, including parental education, income, and child gender, and later academic achievement (Burchinal et al., 2002; Brooks-Gunn & Duncan, 1997) • Others have shown associations between aggressive behavior in toddlerhood and academic achievement at school-age (Campbell et al., 2006) • It is unclear whether aggression in early childhood moderates associations between other known childhood risk factors and later academic achievement • Child Gender and Risk • With respect to psychopathology, research suggests boys may be more susceptible to environmental stressors than girls (Keenan & Shaw, 1997) • Lack of research examining whether early childhood predictors of later academic achievement differ for boys and girls • Moderated Effects • No significant interactions between early childhood variables and toddler-age aggression or gender for overall Academic Skills, Letter-Word Identification, and Calculation • For Spelling, a significant three-way interaction between aggression, language ability, and gender • For girls, language ability was positively associated with spelling at all levels of aggression • For boys, at high levels of aggression, language ability was not associated with spelling at school-age • Participants • 514 children participating in the ongoing longitudinal, multi-site Early Steps Project with academic achievement data at age 7.5 • Recruited based on risk for maladjustment when children were 2 years old • Children (49% female) were 27% African American, 51% European American, 14% biracial, and 7% other races; 13% identified as Latino • Procedure • Data were collected at child ages 2, 3, and 7.5. • Measures • Aggression (ages 2, 3) • Items from the CBCL and Eyberg Problem Behavior Inventory • Language ability (age 3) • Fluharty-2 General Language Quotient • Academic achievement (age 7.5) • Letter-Word Identification, Math, and Spelling subtests from Woodcock Johnson III Tests of Achievement Results Conclusions • Direct Effects • Child language ability was a significant predictor of all age 7.5 academic outcomes (βs between .266 and .350) Study Aims • Toddler-age language ability is a consistent and robust predictor of school-age academic achievement • Both language ability and aggression in toddlerhood are important to consider in conjunction when assessing risk for low school-age achievement, particularly for boys 1.) Determine whether associations between early childhood characteristics (primary caregiver (PC) education, monthly income, and child language skills) and school-age academic achievement are moderated by toddler-age aggression 2.) Examine if associations between early childhood risk variables and later academic achievement are stronger for boys than girls .305* For more information, please contact Lauretta M. Brennan, M.S. (lmb103@pitt.edu). Acknowledgements: Thank you to all of the children and families who have participated in the Early Steps Project. Research was supported by grant 016110 to Drs. Daniel S. Shaw, Thomas J. Dishion, and Melvin N. Wilson from the National Institute on Drug Abuse.