시설거주·여부, 기간, 연령 및 성별에 따른 6, 7세 아동의 어휘력

Vocabulary Competence of 6- and 7-year-old Children by Institutionalization, Age, and Sex

This study examined the vocabulary competence of institutionalized and home-reared 6- and 7-year-old children with the use of the Revised Picture Vocabulary Test(Dunn & Dunn, 1981; Korean version, Kim et al., 1995), administered to 113 institutionalized children and 124 middle class home-reared children. Results indicated that the vocabulary competence of institutionalized children was inferior to that of home-reared children. Children who had lived in an institution for two years or more scored lower than those who had been institutionalized for a shorter time. 7-year-olds scored higher than 6-year-olds, regardless of institutionalization. Home-reared girls scored higher than home-reared boys, but there was no sex difference between institutionalized children. These findings suggest that efforts should be directed toward improving the linguistic environment of institutionalized children.