Do Executive Skills or Language Skills Best Predict Social Competence?

Abstract

Research has shown that children with developmental language impairment are at high risk for social and behavioral problems, although the reasons for this relationship are not entirely clear. Some have proposed that language impairment leads to social and behavioral problems, while others have suggested that there is some other mediating factor. In this study, executive dysfunction was found to be a powerful predictor of social skills and problem behaviors, while language alone was not.