Psychiatria Danubina, Vol. 26 No. 3, 2014.
Original scientific paper
EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE OF MOTHERS AND PSYCHOPATHOLOGY IN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN WITH SPECIFIC LANGUAGE IMPAIRMENT (SLI)
Ana Gregl
; Polyclinic for Rehabilitation of Hearing and Speech ''SUVAG'', Zagreb, Croatia
Marin Kirigin
; Health Center Dubrovnik, Dubrovnik, Croatia
Radojka Sućeska Ligutić
; Association for Psychotherapy ''Change'', Zagreb, Croatia
Snježana Bilać
; Special Hospital for Children with Neurodevelopmental and Motor Disorders, Zagreb, Croatia
Abstract
Background: This study aims to establish whether mothers of children with specific language impairments (SLI) have reduced
emotional competence and whether individual dimensions of maternal emotional competence are related to emotional and
behavioral problems in children.
Subjects and methods: The clinical sample comprised 97 preschool children (23 girls) with SLI from, while the peer sample
comprised 60 (34 girls) developmentally normal preschool children. The emotional competence of mothers was evaluated using the
Emotional Competence Questionnaire (ESCQ-45). Emotional and behavioral difficulties in children were assessed by mothers,
speech therapists, and teachers, using Achenbach’s CBCL and CTRF scales.
Results: A lower emotional competence was found in mothers of children with specific language impairments. Mothers in
clinical and peer samples differed in their ability to express emotions, while there was no statistically significant difference in their
ability to recognize and manage emotions. Poor emotional regulation in mothers was linked to increased emotional reactivity,
anxiety, and depressive manifestations in children with SLI, as well as to their speech comprehension.
Conclusion: Emotional expression in mothers seems to be important for psychopathology in children with SLI, and their
expressive and receptive speech. Our findings suggest that, in addition to the rehabilitation of children with SLI, clinical practice
should implement preventative work with parents to enhance their emotional competence.
Keywords
Hrčak ID:
162200
URI
Publication date:
18.9.2014.
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