Associations between social-emotional and language development in preschool children. Results from a study testing the rationale for an intervention

The aim of the present study was to investigate the associations between social-emotional and language development in a sample of 3-5-year-old children in community-based early childhood education and care (N = 90). Children's theory of mind understanding, affect recognition and language abilities were tested with neuropsychological measurements, and their teachers rated their behavior with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The results showed that language development was linked to the children's social-emotional development and theory of mind ability. Furthermore, the children's observed social-emotional skills and the neuropsychological measurements had associations with their capacity to understand and name emotions in a Teddy Bear test designed for the study. The Teddy Bear test will be developed and validated with a larger sample in a forthcoming study. The present results support the rationale for an intervention study aiming to enhance the children's language development and their social-emotional understanding, to support the children's social-emotional development.