Language barriers and mental health problems of preschool children born very preterm in Germany

This study explored whether the behavioural and emotional problems of preschool children born very preterm (before 32 weeks of pregnancy) are linked to their immigrant background and the languages they speak at home. The study followed 3220 children born very preterm in Germany, including 629 children with immigrant backgrounds. Parents answered questions about the languages they speak at home and about their children's behavioural and emotional problems when they were 5 years old.

Results showed that simply being an immigrant did not affect the children's behavioural and emotional problems. However, children whose mother tongues (meaning the languages they speak at home) were very different from German had more behavioural and emotional problems.

These findings are very novel and have several implications. The study provides evidence that language barriers can be measured by a continuous score of how different a child's mother tongue is from the country's official majority language. Such language differences can increase the risk for behavioural and emotional problems in children born very preterm. More research is needed to understand how these language barriers affect the long-term development of children born very preterm. Researchers, practitioners, policymakers, and especially parents with lived experiences of language barriers should consider the role language differences play for children's mental health.