"It takes a village" to support the vocabulary development of children with multiple risk factors.

Data from a nationally representative sample from Turkey (N = 1,017) were used to investigate the environmental factors that support the receptive vocabulary of 3-year-old children who differ in their developmental risk due to family low economic status and elevated maternal depressive symptoms. Children's vocabulary knowledge was strongly associated with language stimulation and learning materials in all families regardless of risk status. Maternal warmth and responsiveness supported vocabulary competence in families of low economic status only when maternal depressive symptoms were low. In families with the highest levels of risk, that is, with depression and economic distress jointly present, support by the extended family and neighbors for caring for the child protected children's vocabulary development against these adverse conditions. The empirical evidence on the positive contribution of extrafamilial support to young children's receptive vocabulary under adverse conditions allows an expansion of our current theorizing about influences on language development.

Orthopedic disability and socioemotional functioning.

BACKGROUND: The major aim of the study was to examine self-concept, emotional stability, and sociability of Turkish adolescents with orthopedic disability, and the links between these domains and sport participation. METHOD: Participants of the study were 95 students in grades 5-12 (mean age, 15.44 +/- 2.40 years). They were recruited from two boarding schools established for youth with orthopedic disabilities. Parents of the adolescents participated in the study by completing a form to provide information about the child, his/her condition (e.g. first appearance, severity, treatment), and the household in general. Adolescents filled in self-report scales that were developed to measure self-concept, emotional stability, and sociability. RESULTS: Hierarchical multiple regression indicated that regular engagement in sports significantly predicted self-concept of adolescents with orthopedic disability, and the predictive value of playing sport was significant even after differences in participant age, sex, and severity of the disability were taken into account. Emotional stability and sociability of adolescents with disability were predicted by sports playing but to a low degree. CONCLUSION: Study findings underline the importance of understanding social aspects of disability, and the positive association between playing sports and an individuals positive beliefs about oneself.