Emotion Regulation in Children with Developmental Language Disorder

PROJECT SUMMARY
Children and adolescents with developmental language disorder (OLD) are at elevated risk for mental
health problems compared to their peers with typical language skills. The specific causes of increased mental
health problems in individuals with OLD are currently unknown, but evidence points to emotion regulation (ER)
difficulty as a potentially important contributor. ER is the effective engagement of cognitive, behavioral, and
physiological processes needed to change or maintain emotional states. It is critical to understand ER in
children with OLD because ER difficulties are associated with many psychiatric disorders and have been
implicated as a transdiagnostic risk factor for the development of mental health problems.
Studies suggest children with OLD display significantly worse ER skills than typically developing
children, but the number of studies investigating ER in OLD are few. Additionally, in the extant studies, thirdparty
ratings are the only measure of ER. This is problematic because parent report cannot provide information
on internal ER processes (e.g., subjective experience or physiology). Additionally, rating scales previously
used to measure ER in children with OLD do not differentiate between contexts (e.g., those requiring
substantial linguistic processing and skill, and those that have decreased linguistic demands). Children with
OLD may only experience deficits in ER within certain environments, e.g., those that place demands on
linguistic processing, which is a primary deficit for children with OLD, rather than in domain-general tasks.
The proposed project will address both gaps through the measurement of self-report, behavioral, and
physiological indicators of ER during a linguistically demanding task and a domain-general task. Thus, in
evaluating the ER of children with OLD using subjective, behavioral, and physiological measures, the proposed
study will support determination of whether certain indicators of ER difficulties in OLD emerge only in
environments that tax their linguistic resources or if they extend to domain-general contexts. This study aligns
with the NIH NIDCD's mission and strategic plan through enhancing understanding of normal function and
disordered processes of language. Ultimately, the proposed study will inform the assessment of ER in children
with OLD and may lead to more precise and more timely identification of difficulties, which in turn would allow
for earlier targeted interventions. The central purpose of this proposal is to provide training opportunities and
mentorship in theories of psychological intervention, in physiological methodologies, and in advanced statistical
analyses (e.g., linear mixed modeling). Training will also focus on scientific dissemination, project
management, and responsible conduct of research. This will strengthen the career development of the
candidate as she prepares for independence as an investigator in communication sciences and disorders.

Grant Number: 5F31DC021877-02
NIH Institute/Center: NIH
Principal Investigator: Taylor Berrier