Beyond the sandbox. Lasting associations of preschool peer language skills with third-grade vocabulary and the role of primary school peers
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Autor:innen
Autor:in (Körperschaft)
Publikationsdatum
2026
Typ der Arbeit
Studiengang
Typ
01A - Beitrag in wissenschaftlicher Zeitschrift
Herausgeber:innen
Herausgeber:in (Körperschaft)
Betreuer:in
Übergeordnetes Werk
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
Themenheft
DOI der Originalpublikation
Link
Zugehörige Forschungsdaten
Reihe / Serie
Reihennummer
Jahrgang / Band
105
Ausgabe / Nummer
Seiten / Dauer
101973
Patentnummer
Verlag / Herausgebende Institution
Elsevier
Verlagsort / Veranstaltungsort
Auflage
Version
Programmiersprache
Abtretungsempfänger:in
Praxispartner:in/Auftraggeber:in
Zusammenfassung
While emerging evidence links peer group composition to children's language development, most studies are limited to short-term effects and rarely examine potential long-term patterns across educational stages in which children encounter different peer groups. This study examined whether the average language skills of preschool peers showed a lasting association with children's receptive vocabulary in third grade, and further explored whether subsequent primary school peer groups added to or moderated this association. Using data from the German National Educational Panel Study (NEPS; n = 499 target children in 213 preschool groups and 190 primary school classrooms), we applied multilevel regression analyses accounting for children's baseline vocabulary, sociodemographic characteristics, and the nested structure of the data. Preschool peer language skills showed a modest positive association with later vocabulary, which was moderated by primary school peer group skills. Contrary to expectations, preschool effects were strongest when children entered lower-skilled primary school peer groups and were not detectable in higher-skilled groups. No independent additive effect of primary school peer skills emerged. These findings suggest that preschool peer groups may serve as a compensatory foundation when later peer environments are less supportive and underscore the importance of considering consecutive peer contexts when examining longer-term associations in language development.
Schlagwörter
Fachgebiet (DDC)
Veranstaltung
Startdatum der Ausstellung
Enddatum der Ausstellung
Startdatum der Konferenz
Enddatum der Konferenz
Datum der letzten Prüfung
ISBN
ISSN
0193-3973
1873-7900
1873-7900
Sprache
Englisch
Während FHNW Zugehörigkeit erstellt
Ja
Zukunftsfelder FHNW
Publikationsstatus
Veröffentlicht
Begutachtung
peer-reviewed
Open Access-Status
Hybrid
Lizenz
Zitation
Hürlimann, F., Lüdtke, O., & Schmerse, D. (2026). Beyond the sandbox. Lasting associations of preschool peer language skills with third-grade vocabulary and the role of primary school peers. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 105, 101973. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2026.101973