Elaborative Reminiscing and Child Receptive Language in the Context of Maltreatment: The Moderating Role of Maternal Sensitivity

Abstract

This study investigated whether the effect of maternal elaborative reminiscing on child language is moderated by maternal sensitivity and whether this association depends on children’s experience of maltreatment. A total of 236 mothers and their 3- to 7-year-old children (mean age = 5 years) were observed interacting with experimenter-provided toys in the lab and at home, and maternal sensitivity was coded from these interactions. Of that, 155 of the children had a history of maltreatment with the mother being named a perpetrator, and the remaining dyads were demographically matched with no history of maltreatment. Dyads were also asked to discuss four past emotional events, and these conversations were coded for maternal elaborative reminiscing. Children and mothers participated in an assessment of receptive language. Findings revealed an unqualified positive main effect of elaborative reminiscing on children’s receptive language in the nonmaltreating families. However, for maltreated children, elaborative reminiscing was only associated with higher child receptive language when mothers were also more sensitive. These findings indicate that, in the context of maltreatment, both elaborative reminiscing and more general aspects of the quality of the parent–child relationship are important for facilitating child receptive language.