Socioeconomic status, linguistic skills and language background differentially relate to preschoolers’ emotional and behavioural profile

Socioeconomic status, linguistic skills and language background differentially relate to preschoolers’ emotional and behavioural profile | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Socioeconomic status, linguistic skills and language background differentially relate to preschoolers’ emotional and behavioural profile Paola Bonifacci, Viola Ravaldini, Martina Cangelosi, Valentina Tobia This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4593204/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Oct, 2024 Read the published version in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health → Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Background: Proximal and distal factors interact in shaping children’s development and well-being. The present study aimed to investigate socioeconomic status (SES), linguistic skills and language background as concurrent predictors of socio-emotional and behavioural skills in heritage bilinguals and monolingual peers attending preschool. Methods: Parents of 1810 preschoolers (mean age = 63.42 months ± 7.36) filled in the Four Factor Index of SES and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Teachers (n =99) compiled a questionnaire on children’s linguistic skills as well as emotional and behavioural profiles. A subsample of 995 children was administered an expressive vocabulary task. Results: Regression analyses showed that linguistic skills were the unique concurrent predictor for conduct problems as well as the dominant predictor for hyperactivity/impulsivity traits, problems in peer relationships and better prosocial behaviour. SES was negatively related to ADHD traits, problems in peer relationships, and prosocial behaviour. Finally, heritage bilingualism background was associated, although not as a primary predictor, with increased emotional problems, peer relationship problems and minor emotional and behavioural skills as assessed by teachers. However, it was the main factor to be positively associated with prosocial behaviour. Conclusions: The implications of these results for the research in the field and for educational policies are discussed, highlighting the need for a multidimensional perspective that includes linguistic skills and SES in the evaluation of children’s emotional and behavioural outcomes. Language socioeconomic status heritage bilinguals emotions peer relationships prosocial behaviour Key Practitioner Message What is known? Socio-economic Status (SES) and linguistic skills have both been shown to be related to children’s socioemotional and behavioural development. Heritage bilinguals from migrant backgrounds in preschool years might have increased vulnerability to socioemotional and behavioural difficulties What is new? Linguistic skills emerged to be the dominant concurrent predictor of socioemotional and behavioural profiles, followed by SES and, marginally, linguistic background. Linguistic background was positively associated with prosocial skills. What is significant for clinical practice? When considering socioemotional and behavioural difficulties in Heritage Bilinguals, practitioners should adopt a multidimensional approach and pay attention to children’s linguistic skills and socioeconomic background, possibly providing early interventions on linguistic skills in preschool settings. Background Multidimensional models clearly suggest that environmental (distal) factors interact with individual (proximal) factors in shaping children’s developmental trajectories (e.g., (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2007; Westermann et al., 2007); language skills and socio-economic status (SES) have been largely investigated in previous literature as potential protective (or risk) factors for emotional and behavioural children’s outcomes. Language skills have been found to be related to emotional and behavioural development in typical (Chow & Wehby, 2018)) and atypical (i.e., with Developmental Language Disorders) (e.g., Curtis et al., 2018; Yew & O’Kearney, 2013) populations. More in-depth studies have then explored these trends even in bilingual populations (i.e., children from families with a migratory background) (e.g., Sun et al., 2021). SES has been found to underlie children’s discrepancies in academic achievements (Bradley & Corwyn, 2002; Sirin, 2005), linguistic skills (Hoff, 2003, 2006), and socio-emotional well-being (Joshi et al., 1999). However, SES is better viewed as a structural variable rather than an intrinsic characteristic of the family/individual itself (Hannon et al., 2020) and the impact of SES may be modulated by other social and family characteristics (Benzies & Mychasiuk, 2009; Bonifacci et al., 2021). In addition, some meta-analyses (Harwell et al., 2017) found diminished, although significant, effect sizes of the relationship between SES and academic achievement than suggested by previous studies (Coleman, 1968), with the effect size being more robust in more economically developed countries (Kim et al., 2019) and in younger children compared to older ones (Strohschein, 2005). Following globalisation and migration routes, many children attending school in Western countries live in families with a migratory background and are often exposed to one or more heritage languages within the family. For the purpose of the present study, the term “heritage bilinguals” (HB) will be adopted in line with current literature (Paradis, 2023), although plenty of different labels are available in previous studies (Surrain & Luk, 2019). In preschool years, HB may have lower L2 proficiency given to the still limited exposure to the societal language (Paradis, 2023), and they might experience socio-economic disadvantage. In Italy, where the present study has been carried out, the composite index of poverty and social exclusion is 51% for families with both parents holding non-Italian citizenship compared to 23.4% of families with Italian citizenship (ISTAT, 2011). The present study focuses on understanding the differential contribution of SES and language skills as concurrent predictors of children’s socioemotional and behavioural outcomes in a wide sample that includes Italian monolingual children and HB, therefore taking into account family language background as an additional distal factor. The relationships between linguistic skills, language background and socio-emotional wellbeing Although language and emotional/behavioural difficulties often co-occur, the direction of the relationship is harder to define (Hinshaw, 1992). Some authors suggest a bidirectional relationship with reciprocal influences between the two (e.g.,Girard et al., 2016), whereas others support unidirectional pathways as being more likely, with language difficulties as a prominent factor leading to socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties (Bornstein et al., 2013; Petersen et al., 2013). In this line, Westrupp et al. (2020) reported that the main predictor of children’s well-being was vocabulary growth from 4 to 9 years rather than vocabulary knowledge at four years. A study by Bichay-Awadalla et al. (2020) reported, instead, different patterns of relationships with socio-emotional development according to different aspects of linguistics skills, with bidirectional patterns for expressive skills and unidirectional patterns for receptive skills. Other perspectives suggest the possibility that the relationship between language skills and emotional and behavioural problems might be mediated by other (third) factors or that behavioural and emotional problems might hinder full language development (Hinshaw, 1992). Some studies have also explored these trends in HB children. Specifically, the literature has found associations between problematic behaviours and lower linguistic competence in bilingual children (Han, 2010; Sun, 2019; Sun et al., 2021; Winsler et al., 2014), with greater externalising behaviours in children with lower L2 language skills (Araújo Dawson & Williams, 2008; McNally et al., 2019). There may be adverse factors related to the migratory process of some families, such as interrupted education, poverty, frequent transitions, exposure to violence, and separation from family, that might increase vulnerability (Fazel & Stein, 2002; Hadfield, Ostrowski and Ungar, 2017; Sirin and Rogers-Sirin, 2015). Therefore, language background shouldn’t be considered only in terms of language competence but as a more complex variable that includes the potential impact on the child's well-being of speaking a language at home that’s different from the one employed in social contexts. The perception that the heritage language is devalued or under-recognised as a linguistic ability both at school and in social contexts could affect the family climate and, consequently, the child's well-being. In line with this, some authors reported an increased risk for emotional and behavioural problems in HBs (Belhadj Kouider et al., 2014). On the other hand, positive attitudes towards multilingualism and good connections with heritage language and culture could foster enriched social inclusion, emotional well-being and family cohesion (Cangelosi et al., 2024; De Houwer, 2015; Halle et al., 2014; Hollebeke, 2023; Sevinç, 2022). The relationships between socioeconomic status on children’s verbal, emotional and behavioural skills. The impact of SES on language and socio-emotional outcomes could be explained by multiple mechanisms. On the one side, families from low socioeconomic backgrounds may have less access to materials and information, social resources and educational opportunities (e.g., exposure to books, reading practice, quality of schools, etc.) to support children's verbal and emotional development (Suggate et al., 2018). In addition, greater economic and social freedom might have repercussions on how resources shape experience and, therefore, on subjective experience (Kraus et al., 2012). We already know from the literature that SES has an impact on children’s linguistic skills: for example, vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary growth, syntax and language learning process (Hoff, 2003, 2006; Levine et al., 2020), as well as literacy skills (Bonifacci et al., 2022; Bonifacci et al., 2020) are known to be negatively affected by lower levels of SES. However, previous studies have found high variability within both low- and high-SES families in their home support for learning (i.e., home literacy/numeracy) (Benzies & Mychasiuk, 2009; Elliott, 2020; Hemmerechts et al., 2017). Evidence has been collected on the relationship between SES and verbal abilities in HB populations. SES has been found to be related to HBs’ L2 vocabulary size (Gathercole et al., 2016; Gatt et al., 2020), productive and receptive morphosyntactic skills (Chiat & Polišenská, 2016; Meir & Armon-Lotem, 2017) and discursive-semantic abilities (De Cat, 2020); in the latter study, it was also observed that the greater the cumulative exposure to school language, the stronger the correlation between SES and sentence repetition score. SES might also have an impact on children’s socio-emotional and behavioural development (Kuo et al., 2020) and has been found to be linked to the development of psychopathology and lower academic achievement (Guhn et al., 2020; Reiss, 2013; Sirin, 2005; Yoshikawa et al., 2012). In a meta-analysis (Peverill et al., 2021), it was found that SES was more strongly related to externalising rather than internalising symptoms, but it emerged that the relationship between SES and child psychopathology is likely to vary in different populations of children and in different communities. Furthermore, some authors reported a weak association between SES and psychopathological vulnerability in some ethnic groups (Costello et al., 2001; McLaughlin et al., 2012). The association between SES and psychopathological indicators, therefore, is still a matter of debate, particularly for HB children. Present study Based on previous literature, multiple relationships emerge among SES, linguistic development, language background, and emotional and behavioural development. However, there is a need for more extensive research that accounts for the influence of both proximal and distal factors on children’s outcomes, particularly for the emotional and behavioural dimensions. As evidenced by (Singh & Rajendra, 2024) greater attention to socioeconomic status in developmental research is still needed to increase the generalizability of data in psychological research. This is particularly the case when studying specific populations, as there is a risk of biased inferences if both proximal and distal factors are not accounted for (Paradis, 2023). The aim of the present study is to investigate, with a multi-informant (parents, teachers) and multi-method (questionnaires, tests) approach, SES, linguistic skills and language background as concurrent predictors of socio-emotional and behavioural skills in HB and monolingual peers attending preschool. The main research questions are the following: 1) Do linguistic skills, socioemotional and behavioural skills differ in HB compared to monolingual peers? This comparison should be considered as a preliminary exploration of how group differences work when other variables are not taken into account and to justify the inclusion of the dichotomic (HB vs monolinguals) group variable in the following analyses. Based on previous literature, we expect HB to underperform in L2 linguistic skills compared to monolingual peers due to the lack of sufficient exposure to the Italian language in preschool years (Bonifacci et al., 2018; Bonifacci et al., 2016; Paradis, 2023). Conversely, mixed results were found regarding the socio-emotional domain, with some studies reporting more emotional and behavioural discomfort in bilinguals and others reporting some advantages (e.g., Belhadj Kouider et al., 2014; Halle et al., 2014); the analysis of differences for these variables is, therefore, mainly explorative. 2) What is the relative impact of linguistic background, SES and linguistic skills on socioemotional and behavioural skills in HB and monolingual peers? Given that previous literature highlighted influences of linguistic background, linguistic skills and SES on socioemotional and behavioural skills, we wanted to analyse the differential impact of linguistic background, SES and linguistic skills, considered together, on children’s socioemotional and behavioural skills. We expect SES (Guhn et al., 2020; Kuo et al., 2020; Peverill et al., 2021; Reiss, 2013; Sirin, 2005; Yoshikawa et al., 2012) and linguistic skills (Bichay-Awadalla et al., 2020; Bornstein et al., 2013; Petersen et al., 2013) to be the main predictors of children’s well-being, and once accounted for these variables, to observe a marginal role of HB per se . Method Participants The study involved a community sample of 1810 children (48.9% females, mean age = 63.42 months ± 7.36) attending the second and third year of 58 public all-day preschools, located in areas in the Municipality of Bologna (Italy). Within this sample, 1261 (females = 49%, mean age: 63.52 ± 7.39) children were from families speaking mainly Italian in the family context (monolinguals), and 549 (females = 49.0%, mean age: 63.18 ± 7.29) were HB children. All participants declared to speak a heritage language in the family context, as emerged by school reports and parents’ questionnaires; most families had a migrant background, with one parent (29.3%) or both (59.4%) born in another country, whereas 11.3% had both parents speaking a heritage language in the family but were born in Italy. The main languages spoken were Arabic (18.6%), Romanian (18.2%), Pidgin English (8.6%), Albanian (7.8%), Bengali (7.3%), Spanish (7.3%), Urdu (5.8%), Russian (4.4%), African French (2.2%), Tagalog (3.3%), Chinese (1.8%), Portuguese (1.6%), Ukrainian (1.5%), Sinhali (1.4%), Greek (1.3%), Polish (1.3%), others (7.6%, all < 1%, e.g., Serbian, Tamil, Bulgarian, Somali, etc.). A small portion (1.05%) of the sample (n = 19) had a certified mild disability. All parents filled in the study questionnaire (see below for details). Then, for each child, a teacher filled in a questionnaire, for a total of 99 teachers involved. Teachers filled in the questionnaire for a variable number of children depending on how many families adhered to the study in each class. The Vocabulary task (see below for details) was administered to a subsample of 995 children, of which 31.76% are in the HB group. The Italian preschool system involves children aged from 3 to 6 years old and is structured as follows: a three-year program during which no formal teaching of literacy is provided. However, the children might be engaged in activities to improve their language skills in playful activities. Materials Questionnaires for parents Socio-Economic Status (SES). Parents completed the Hollingshead Four Factor Index of Social Status. To achieve a composite score for each child’s SES, information regarding both parents’ educational level and occupation was scored from 1 to 7 for educational level and 1 to 9 for occupation. Then, SES scores for each parent were calculated using the formula (educational level*3 + occupation*5); the mean between parents’ SES was used as the child’s SES. In the case of single parents, their unique score was used. The minimum and maximum scores ranged from 8 to 66. Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. The single-sided version of the SDQ-parents (Goodman, 2001) was administered. The SDQ is available in many languages and parents were offered the possibility to access their preferred language when requested. The questionnaire has been found to be concordant for both native and immigrant parents (Runge & Soellner, 2019). This questionnaire includes 25 items describing positive and negative behavioural traits; respondents use a 3-point Likert-type scale (0 = not true, 1 = somewhat true, and 2 = certainly true) to rate each item referring to the son/daughter. The 25 items are divided among the following five scales (reliability scores calculated on the study sample): Emotional Symptoms (α = .66), Conduct Problems (α = .53), Hyperactivity-Inattention (α = .70), Peer Relationship Problems (α = .60), Prosocial Behaviour (α = .65). A higher score corresponds to more severe difficulties on the four scales describing negative behaviours. On the Prosocial Behaviour scale, a higher score indicates more positive behaviours. For each scale, the maximum score is 10. Questionnaire for teachers Children’s early linguistic skills and emotional-behavioural profile were assessed with a proxy-report questionnaire administered to their teachers. The whole questionnaire consists of 20 items (Authors, 2021, 2023, in preparation), developed based on the early cognitive, literacy, numeracy, and behavioural skills deemed adequate for preschoolers based on the Italian curriculum and the previous literature. The questions were first qualitatively validated by groups of teachers who provided feedback on the items' clarity. For each item, the name of the competence was accompanied by a short definition and some examples (e.g., phonological awareness : “It refers to the child's ability to perform fusion/segmentation tasks, such as splitting or joining the pieces of the word banana: ba-na-na). For the aim of the present study, we considered only two subscales: Linguistic skills (Five items: phonological awareness, morphosyntactic comprehension and production, narrative skills, pre-writing skills); Behavioural profile (Four items: the ability to respect waiting time, sociality, emotional resources, interest in activities). The teachers rated their evaluations of the children’s skills on a five-point Likert scale from “never/absent” to “always/excellent competence”. The Cronbach’s alpha for the scales is .904 for the linguistic area and .968 for the behavioural area. Children’s expressive vocabulary: The early language skills of the children were assessed through the expressive vocabulary task from the Learning Difficulties Indexes – IDA (Bonifacci et al., 2015). In this task, children were asked to name 36 images disposed on three grids, with 12 images each selected for decreasing frequency in spoken language (Burani et al., 2001). The accuracy score, ranging from 0 to 36 (1 point for each correct answer), was considered. The Cronbach’s alpha of the scale was 0.85, according to the test manual. Procedure Questionnaires on SES and SDQ were provided to parents as paper and pencil questionnaires. Parents could complete it together or by who spends more time with the child, usually the mother. The teachers were required to complete the questionnaire for each child within one month to allow them to observe the children’s linguistic skills and emotional and behavioural skills. Early language tasks were administered individually by a trained psychologist in a quiet room at the children’s school in a single session lasting about 10 min. Special attention was given to ascertaining children had correctly understood the instructions. Participants involved in the study gave informed consent, the study was conducted in accordance in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the University of Bologna Bioethical Committee approved the project (Prot. 322431, December 21, 2021). Data analysis We ran the analysis using the program RStudio 1.0.153 (RStudio, 2020). We used the “hmisc” package (Harrell, 2023) for the correlation analysis. We used the “lmtest”(Zeileis & Hothorn, 2002) and “car” (Fox & Weisberg, 2019) for our main analyses. The “relaimpo” (Groemping, 2006)has been used to compute the dominance analysis for every model. As preliminary analyses, correlations among the main variables of the study are reported. Then, we first meant to verify group differences (monolinguals vs HB) across the main measures considered through Welch Two Sample t-tests. The second set of models aimed to understand how language background (dichotomic variable), together with SES and verbal knowledge (continuous variables), related respectively to parents’ and teachers’ evaluation of children’s socioemotional and behavioural skills (measured through SDQ and ad-hoc teacher questionnaire respectively). Given the high correlation between the vocabulary task and the assessment of linguistic skills through teachers’ questionnaire (r = .550), we decided to include only the latter variable to avoid collinearity and consider a wider sample. Results Correlations among the main variables of the study are reported in Table 1 . Table 1 Correlations among the main variables of the study SES 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Vocabulary^ (1) .436** Linguistic skills (TE)° (2) .377** .550** Emotion & Behaviour (TE)° (3) .168** .253** .665** SDQ - Emotional symptoms (4) − .107** − .092** − .079** -0.042 SDQ - Conduct Problems (5) − .061** − .075* − .095** − .186** .277** SDQ - Hyperactivity/inattention (6) − .185** − .128** − .206** − .272** .236** .423** SDQ - Peer Relationship Problems (7) − .237** − .238** − .239** − .144** .507** .199** .191** SDQ - Prosocial Behaviour − .090** -0.039 .049* .111** − .247** − .343** − .287** − .273** **p <. 01; * p < .01 ^ N = 955, °TE = Teacher Evaluation Group differences. As it can be argued from Table 2 , HB belonged to an averagely lower socioeconomic background compared to monolinguals and performed significantly worse in the vocabulary task, in linguistic skills, and in the behavioural profile according to the teacher’s evaluation. Concerning SDQ Scales, except for the behavioural scale, bilinguals had significantly higher rates of reported difficulties in all domains. However, they also had higher values on the Prosocial Skills Scale, meaning that they tend to be more prosocial in comparison with their monolingual peers. Table 2 Welch Two Sample T-tests. Subscale HB (Mean) Monolinguals(Mean) t df p 95% CI (Lower) 95% CI (Upper) SES 29.426 43.654 -21.929 1016.5 < .001 -15.501 -12.955 Linguistic skills 3.518 4.217 -13.534 835.32 < .001 -0.800 -0.598 SEB Skills^ 3.769 3.990 -4.744 931.15 < .001 -0.314 -0.130 SDQ Emotions 2.047 1.641 4.241 966.9 < .001 0.218 0.593 Conduct 1.677 1.642 0.451 1005.1 ns -0.119 0.190 ADHD 3.718 3.270 4.060 1099.4 < .001 0.231 0.663 Peer Relations 2.124 1.250 10.075 984.18 < .001 2.124 1.250 Prosocial Behaviour 8.179 7.789 4.443 1110.5 < .001 8.179 7.788 Note. The table displays the results of Welch Two Sample T-tests comparing the means of HB and Monolinguals for each variable, with its subscales. p-values less than .05 are considered statistically significant. ^Socioemotional and behavioural Concurrent predictors of socio-emotional and behavioural profile Emotional Symptoms. The categorical variable Language Background was significant ( p < .05, β = 0.240), meaning that bilinguals have averagely worst emotional patterns. The continuous variable ‘linguistic skills’ was not significant ( p = 0.188), while SES was significant ( p < .05, β = − 0.008), meaning that children coming from higher socioeconomic status families show overall less emotional problems. The dominance analysis reveals that SES’ contribution seems to be particularly relevant in the present model. Table 3 Model on SDQ Emotional Problems. Β Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|) Dominance (Intercept) 2.522 0.190 13.244 < .001 Language background 0.240 0.106 -2.264 < .05 0.006 Linguistic skills -0.064 0.048 -1.319 0.188 0.003 SES -0.008 0.004 -2.421 < .05 0.007 Conduct problems. The categorial variable Language Background was not significant ( p = .128). The continuous variable linguistic skills was significant, with p < .001, with a negative estimate β = -0.144, meaning that children with higher performance in the verbal domain show fewer conduct problems. On the contrary, SES was not significant, with a p = .094. The dominance analysis reveals that linguistic skills contribution seems to be particularly relevant in the present model. Table 4 Model on SDQ conduct problems. Β Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|) Dominance (Intercept) 2.329 0.159 14.624 < .001 Language background 0.135 0.089 1.524 0.127 0.001 Linguistic skills -0.144 0.041 -3.556 < .001 0.008 SES -0.005 0.003 -1.678 0.093 0.003 Hyperactivity/Inattention scale . The categorial variable Language Background was not significant ( p = .375). The continuous variables linguistic skills and SES were both significant, with p < .001, β = -0.374 and β = -0.020, meaning that children with higher performance in the verbal domain show fewer hyperactivity/inattention problems, as well as children coming from higher SES families. The dominance analysis reveals that the contribution of linguistic skills emerges as particularly significant in the current model, demonstrating a stronger and more influential association compared to the other variables examined. Table 5 Model on SDQ Hyperactivity/Inattention scale β Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|) Dominance (Intercept) 5.650 0.227 24.887 < .001 Language background 0.112 0.126 0.888 0.375 0.003 Linguistic skills -0.374 0.058 -6.479 < .001 0.031 SES -0.021 0.004 -5.005 < .001 0.022 Peer relationship problems. The categorial variable Language Background was significant ( p < .001) with a positive estimate (β = 0.485). This result indicates that HBs have average higher peer relationship problems compared to monolinguals. The continuous variables linguistic skills and SES were both significant, both with p < .001, β = − 0.265 and β = − 0.014, meaning that children with an averagely better performance in linguistic skills, as well as children coming from higher socioeconomic status families, show overall fewer peer relationships problems. The dominance analysis indicates that linguistic skills appear to be notably significant within the present model, suggesting a pronounced influence compared to other variables under investigation. Table 6 Model on SDQ Peer relationship problem scale. β Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|) Dominance (Intercept) 3.479 0.171 20.347 < .001 Language background 0.485 0.095 -5.089 < .001 0.031 Linguistic skills -0.265 0.044 -6.093 < .001 0.034 SES -0.014 0.003 -4.557 < .001 0.030 Prosocial behaviour scale. The categorial variable language background was significant ( p < .001) with a positive estimate (β = 0.383). This result means that bilinguals have an average higher prosocial behaviour. The continuous linguistic skills and SES were both significant, both with p < .001, but with a positive estimate for linguistic skills (β = 0.212) and a negative estimate for SES (β = − 0.010), meaning that children with better linguistic skills have better prosocial behaviour, but those coming from higher socioeconomic status families show worse prosocial behaviour skills. The dominance analysis underscores the notable significance of bilingualism's contribution within the current model, indicating a discernible impact that surpasses that of other variables under examination. Table 7 Model on SDQ Prosocial behaviour scale. β Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|) Dominance (Intercept) 7.753 0.185 41.891 < .001 Language background 0.383 0.103 -3.720 < .001 0.009 Linguistic skills 0.212 0.047 4.512 < .001 0.007 SES -0.011 0.003 -3.202 < .01 0.007 Teachers’ evaluation on children’s socioemotional and behavioural skills. Concerning the model on teachers’ evaluation of children’s socioemotional and behavioural skills, language background turned out to be significant, with p < .001 and β = -0.183, meaning that teachers evaluated bilingual children as with minor socioemotional and behavioural skills. Linguistic skills and SES also turned out to be significant with p < .001, respectively with β = 0.653 and β = -0.003, indicating that children with higher linguistic skills are evaluated as significantly better in terms of socioemotional and behavioural skills. On the contrary, children with higher SES are evaluated as significantly worst in terms of socioemotional and behavioural skills. The dominance analysis highlights the substantial relevance of linguistic skills within the current model, indicating a pronounced influence that exceeds that of other variables under investigation. Table 8 Model on teachers’ evaluation of socioemotional and behavioural skills. β Std. Error t value Pr(>|t|) Dominance (Intercept) 1.578 0.068 23.187 < .001 Language background -0.182 0.038 -4.818 < .001 0.009 Linguistic skills 0.653 0.017 37.747 < .001 0.434 SES -0.004 0.001 -2.928 < .01 0.014 Discussion The present study investigated the differential contribution of language background (monolinguals vs HB), SES and linguistic skills on children’s emotional and behavioural profiles. In line with previous literature that reported, although with contrasting results, weaker vocabulary and linguistic skills in L2 for HB preschoolers (Paradis, 2023 ) and an increased risk for emotional and behavioural problems (Belhadj Kouider et al., 2014 ) in HB children, we first assessed group differences on the main variables included in the study. Based on dichotomic comparison, a picture of increased emotional problems, hyperactivity/impulsivity traits and peer relationship difficulties emerged in HB children, compared to the monolingual group. There were no differences in conduct problems and an advantage in prosocial behaviour in HBs, based on parents’ reports. Also, this group received lower scores in the evaluation of emotional and behavioural skills, according to teachers’ reports. Together, HBs had lower SES and linguistics skills, the latter measured either through direct assessment (vocabulary task) or teachers’ evaluations, compared to children from monolingual backgrounds. This first set of results might suggest, in line with previous studies, that HB children might be at higher risk of emotional and behavioural difficulties (Belhadj Kouider et al., 2014 ). However, this representation might oversimplify a complex phenomenon and the study aimed to delve deeper into this initial picture and add new evidence through an analysis of the differential relationships of language background, together with composite measures of SES and linguistic skills evaluation with emotional and behavioural profile. The five main dimensions of the SDQ questionnaire (parents’ reports) were considered independently, together with teachers’ evaluations of children’s emotional and behavioural skills. To sum up, moving from dichotomic group analyses to regression models that consider and control the differential role of language background, SES and linguistic skills, a more complex pattern of relationships emerged. Linguistic skills were actually found to be the unique concurrent predictor for conduct problems and the dominant predictor for the hyperactivity/impulsivity traits, the problems in peer relationships and the emotional and behavioural skills evaluated by teachers. Also, linguistic skills positively predicted prosocial behaviour. However, linguistic skills were not significantly related to emotional problems as assessed by parents, which had SES as their main predictor instead, followed by language background. However, there was also a negative significant relationship between lower SES and hyperactivity/impulsivity traits, problems in peer relationships, and prosocial behaviour. Higher SES also predicted better emotional and behavioural skills according to teacher evaluation. Finally, HB background was associated, but not as a primary predictor, with increased emotional problems and peer relationship problems as assessed by parents, and minor emotional and behavioural skills as assessed by teachers. However, it was the main factor to be positively associated with prosocial behaviour. This picture can be interpreted in light of previous literature, suggesting a main association of linguistic skills with children’s behavioural profiles, with particular emphasis on externalising traits and social relationships (Bichay-Awadalla et al., 2020 ; Bornstein et al., 2013 ; Chow & Wehby, 2018 ; Petersen et al., 2013 ; Sun et al., 2021 ). This study was conducted on a typical population, suggesting that the children who have lower linguistic skills might encounter more difficulties in peer relationships and might show increased behavioural problems, possibly due to minor access to verbal communication. SES turned out to have a priority association with emotional problems, in line with previous literature (Guhn et al., 2020 ; Reiss, 2013 ; Sirin, 2005 ; Yoshikawa et al., 2012 ), suggesting that resources might shape subjective experiences. Differently from what is stated by (Peverill et al., 2021 ), findings from the present study seem to suggest a main association with internalising rather than externalising symptoms. Also, SES generally resulted as a non-dominant factor compared to linguistic skills in predicting patterns of socioemotional and behavioural difficulties, suggesting that proximal factors might be prominent over distal factors. This sheds light on the idea that the influence of SES should not be viewed as deterministic or inherent to individuals (Hannon et al., 2020 ), but rather as a structural variable or a constraint, according to the neuroconstructivist perspective (Westermann et al., 2007 ), which individuals and society can intervene on. In this regard, previous literature found that the family environment can mediate the influence of SES on children’s early achievements and well-being (e.g.,Bonifacci et al., 2021 ; Liu et al., 2023 ) Finally, as hypothesised, the strength of the relationship between language background and socioemotional and behavioural problems was less conspicuous, although still present, when linguistic skills and SES were taken into account. As outlined by Araújo Dawson and Williams ( 2008 ), language status can act as an acculturative stressor throughout the early school experience and can negatively affect well-being. However, an innovative result is increased prosocial behaviours in HB children, whilst lower in high SES children. So, even if HB children might experience a degree of increased difficulty in engaging in peer relationships and might be more at risk for emotional problems, they seem to have active coping strategies that bring them to engage in prosocial behaviours. As previous literature suggests, bilingualism might be associated with both cognitive and everyday life advantages (Bonifacci et al., 2011 ; Poarch & Krott, 2019 ). The study presents some limitations that need to be acknowledged. First of all, results are based on a concurrent design, and this does not allow the definition of causal patterns. As previous evidence suggested (Hinshaw, 1992 ), bidirectional relationships are also possible, at least in terms of linguistic skills and emotional patterns. It is, instead, more plausible to assume unidirectional patterns of SES and HB to emotional well-being. Secondly, teachers’ evaluation might also be biased by a halo effect that might lead to high correlations between linguistic and behavioural judgments. Also, the teacher's prejudices against low-SES children could influence their competence assessment. However, correlation analyses highlighted that vocabulary skills were more strongly related to the teachers’ evaluation of linguistic skills than to behavioural items. Finally, the present study did not take into account important sources of heterogeneity in the HB sample (e.g., linguistic input, age of exposure) (Paradis, 2023 ), and future investigation should also consider positive and negative attitudes toward heritage language in the child and the family (Cangelosi et al., 2024 ; De Houwer, 2015 ; Halle et al., 2014 ; Hollebeke, 2023 ; Sevinç, 2022 ) in order to better investigate under which circumstances HB might be at greater risk of emotional discomfort. Conclusions Despite its limitations, the present study highlights some innovative patterns that might represent new evidence of the differential relationship between SES, linguistic skills and language background on children’s socioemotional and behavioural profiles and might lead to potential implications for research and practice. Linguistic skills and, secondly, SES turned out to be the dominant factors associated with socio-emotional and behavioural well-being. Heritage bilinguals might be at higher risk of emotional discomfort but they also show some advantages in prosocial behaviour, unlike children with higher SES. Finally, the study has been conducted in Italy, where minor evidence has been collected so far on the relationship between the above-cited variables. As regards the potential implications, also in line with Singh and Rajendra ( 2024 ), these results underline the importance of including composite measures of SES in psychological research and suggest that both linguistic skills and SES should be included when investigating children’s socioemotional and behavioural well-being, going beyond categorical group comparisons. In terms of practice, it further reinforces the significance of early interventions on linguistic skills in preschool settings. Further, the study highlights the importance of encouraging a multidimensional approach among educators and clinicians when faced with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, specifically in the case of HB, developing multiple hypotheses on the factors underlying the discomfort and favouring multi-component interventions. Declarations Conflict of Interest Statement: No conflict of interest Funding: The was conducted within the collaboration agreement funded by Municipality of Bologna, “Convenzione per la definizione di attività di ricerca e progettazione volte alla definizione di un sistema di percorsi di qualificazione dell’offerta formativa delle scuole dell’infanzia e per la formazione di personale educativo e docente, A.A. 2021/2022” [Agreement for the definition of research and planning activities aimed at defining a system of qualification paths for the educational offer of kindergartens and for the training of educational and teaching staff, a.y. 2021/22] Data Availability Statement: The data that support the findings of this study are openly available in PsychArchives at https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.14488 Ethics: Participants involved in the study gave informed consent, the study was conducted in accordance in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the University of Bologna Bioethical Committee approved the project (Prot. 322431, December 21, 2021). Acknowledgements: we thank Chiara Vassura, Diego Compiani, Alexandra Affranti and Benedetta Peri for collaboration in data collection. Author Contribution Conceptualization, P.B. and V.T.; methodology, P.B., V.T.; formal analysis, M.G.; investigation, V.R.; resources, P.B.; data curation, P.B., V.T., M.G.; writing—original draft preparation, V.D., P.B., M.G.; writing—review and editing, P.B., V.T.; supervision, P.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript. References Araújo Dawson, B., & Williams, S. A. (2008). The Impact of Language Status as an Acculturative Stressor on Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviours among Latino/a Children: A Longitudinal Analysis from School Entry through Third Grade. Journal of Youth and Adolescence , 37 (4), 399-411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9233-z Belhadj Kouider, E., Koglin, U., & Petermann, F. (2014). Emotional and behavioural problems in migrant children and adolescents in Europe: a systematic review. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry , 23 (6), 373-391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-013-0485-8 Benzies, K., & Mychasiuk, R. (2009). Fostering family resiliency: a review of the key protective factors. Child & Family Social Work , 14 (1), 103-114. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00586.x Bichay-Awadalla, K., Qi, C. H., Bulotsky-Shearer, R. J., & Carta, J. J. (2020). Bidirectional Relationship Between Language Skills and Behaviour Problems in Preschool Children From Low-Income Families. Journal of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders , 28 (2), 114-128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426619853535 Bonifacci, P., Barbieri, M., Tomassini, M., & Roch, M. (2018). In few words: linguistic gap but adequate narrative structure in preschool bilingual children. J Child Lang , 45 (1), 120-147. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000917000149 Bonifacci, P., Compiani, D., Affranti, A., & Peri, B. (2021). Home Literacy and Numeracy Interact and Mediate the Relationship Between Socio-Economic Status and Early Linguistic and Numeracy Skills in Preschoolers [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology , 12 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.662265 Bonifacci, P., Ferrara, I. C., Pedrinazzi, J., Terracina, F., & Palladino, P. (2022). Literacy Acquisition Trajectories in Bilingual Language Minority Children and Monolingual Peers with Similar or Different SES: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study. Brain Sci , 12 (5). https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050563 Bonifacci, P., Giombini, L., Bellocchi, S., & Contento, S. (2011). Speed of processing, anticipation, inhibition and working memory in bilinguals. Dev Sci , 14 (2), 256-269. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.00974.x Bonifacci, P., Giuliano, P., Pellizzari, C., & Serra, P. (2015). IDA - Indicatori delle Difficoltà di Apprendimento . Hogrefe. Bonifacci, P., Lombardo, G., Pedrinazzi, J., Terracina, F., & Palladino, P. (2020). Literacy Skills in Bilinguals and Monolinguals with Different SES. Reading & Writing Quarterly , 36 (3), 243-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2019.1635057 Bonifacci, P., Tobia, V., Bernabini, L., & Marzocchi, G. M. (2016). Early Literacy and Numeracy Skills in Bilingual Minority Children: Toward a Relative Independence of Linguistic and Numerical Processing. Front Psychol , 7 , 1020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01020 Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C.-S., & Suwalsky, J. T. D. (2013). Language and internalizing and externalizing behavioural adjustment: Developmental pathways from childhood to adolescence. Development and Psychopathology , 25 (3), 857-878. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579413000217 Bradley, R. H., & Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic Status and Child Development. Annual Review of Psychology , 53 (Volume 53, 2002), 371-399. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135233 Bronfenbrenner, U., & Morris, P. A. (2007). The Bioecological Model of Human Development. In Handbook of Child Psychology . https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470147658.chpsy0114 Burani, C., Barca, L., & Arduino, L. S. (2001). Una base di dati sui valori di età di acquisizione, frequenza, familiarità, immaginabilità, concretezza, e altre variabili lessicali e sublessicali per 626 nomi dell'italiano. Giornale Italiano di Psicologia , 4 , 839-856. https://doi.org/10.1421/379 Cangelosi, M., Borghetti, C., & Bonifacci, P. (2024). How Parents’ Perceived Value of the Heritage Language Predicts Their Children’s Skills. Languages , 9 (3), 80. https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/3/80 Chiat, S., & Polišenská, K. (2016). A Framework for Crosslinguistic Nonword Repetition Tests: Effects of Bilingualism and Socioeconomic Status on Children's Performance. Journal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research , 59 (5), 1179-1189. https://doi.org/doi:10.1044/2016_JSLHR-L-15-0293 Chow, J. C., & Wehby, J. H. (2018). Associations Between Language and Problem Behaviour: a Systematic Review and Correlational Meta-analysis. Educational Psychology Review , 30 (1), 61-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9385-z Coleman, J. S. (1968). EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY. Equity & Excellence in Education , 6 (5), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020486680060504 Costello, E. J., Keeler, G. P., & Angold, A. (2001). Poverty, Race/Ethnicity, and Psychiatric Disorder: A Study of Rural Children. American Journal of Public Health , 91 (9), 1494-1498. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.91.9.1494 Curtis, P. R., Frey, J. R., Watson, C. D., Hampton, L. H., & Roberts, M. Y. (2018). Language Disorders and Problem Behaviours: A Meta-analysis. Pediatrics , 142 (2). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-3551 De Cat, C. (2020). PREDICTING LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY IN BILINGUAL CHILDREN. Studies in Second Language Acquisition , 42 (2), 279-325. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263119000597 De Houwer, A. (2015). Harmonious bilingual development: Young families’ well-being in language contact situations. International Journal of Bilingualism , 19 (2), 169-184. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006913489202 Elliott, L. (2020). Sources of heterogeneity in the home learning environments of socioeconomically disadvantaged families. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology , 70 , 101190. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101190 Fox, J., & Weisberg, S. (2019). An R Companion to Applied Regression. Third Edition . Sage. Gathercole, V. C. M., Kennedy, I., & Thomas, E. M. (2016). Socioeconomic level and bilinguals’ performance on language and cognitive measures. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , 19 (5), 1057-1078. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728915000504 Gatt, D., Baldacchino, R., & Dodd, B. (2020). Which measure of socioeconomic status best predicts bilingual lexical abilities and how? A focus on four-year-olds exposed to two majority languages. Journal of Child Language , 47 (4), 737-765. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000919000886 Girard, L.-C., Pingault, J.-B., Doyle, O., Falissard, B., & Tremblay, R. E. (2016). Developmental Associations Between Conduct Problems and Expressive Language in Early Childhood: A Population-Based Study. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology , 44 (6), 1033-1043. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-015-0094-8 Goodman, R. (2001). Psychometric Properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry , 40 (11), 1337-1345. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200111000-00015 Groemping, U. (2006). Relative Importance for Linear Regression in R: The Package relaimpo. Journal of Statistical Software , 17 (1), 1 - 27. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v017.i01 Guhn, M., Emerson, S. D., Mahdaviani, D., & Gadermann, A. M. (2020). Associations of Birth Factors and Socio-Economic Status with Indicators of Early Emotional Development and Mental Health in Childhood: A Population-Based Linkage Study. Child Psychiatry & Human Development , 51 (1), 80-93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-019-00912-6 Halle, T. G., Whittaker, J. V., Zepeda, M., Rothenberg, L., Anderson, R., Daneri, P., Wessel, J., & Buysse, V. (2014). The social–emotional development of dual language learners: Looking back at existing research and moving forward with purpose. Early Childhood Research Quarterly , 29 (4), 734-749. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.12.002 Han, W.-J. (2010). Bilingualism and socioemotional well-being. Children and Youth Services Review , 32 (5), 720-731. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.01.009 Hannon, P., Nutbrown, C., & Morgan, A. (2020). Effects of extending disadvantaged families’ teaching of emergent literacy. Research Papers in Education , 35 (3), 310-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1568531 Harrell, F. J. (2023). Hmisc: Harrell Miscellaneous. R package version 5.1-2 .In https://hbiostat.org/R/Hmisc Harwell, M., Maeda, Y., Bishop, K., & Xie, A. (2017). The Surprisingly Modest Relationship Between SES and Educational Achievement. The Journal of Experimental Education , 85 (2), 197-214. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2015.1123668 Hemmerechts, K., Agirdag, O., & Kavadias, D. (2017). The relationship between parental literacy involvement, socio-economic status and reading literacy. Educational Review , 69 (1), 85-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2016.1164667 Hinshaw, S. P. (1992). Externalizing behaviour problems and academic underachievement in childhood and adolescence: causal relationships and underlying mechanisms. Psychol Bull , 111 (1), 127-155. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.111.1.127 Hoff, E. (2003). The Specificity of Environmental Influence: Socioeconomic Status Affects Early Vocabulary Development Via Maternal Speech. Child Development , 74 (5), 1368-1378. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00612 Hoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. Developmental Review , 26 (1), 55-88. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2005.11.002 Hollebeke, I. (2023). How stable is a family’s language policy? Multilingual families’ beliefs, practices, and management across time. Language Policy . https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-023-09679-y ISTAT. (2011). I redditi delle famiglie con stranieri . Joshi, H., Cooksey, E., Wiggins, R., McCulloch, A., Verropoulou, G., & Clarke, L. (1999). Diverse family living situations and child development: a multi-level analysis comparing longitudinal evidence from Britain and The United States. International Journal of Law, Policy and the Family , 13 (3), 292-314. https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/13.3.292 Kim, S. w., Cho, H., & Kim, L. Y. (2019). Socioeconomic Status and Academic Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Meta-Analysis. Review of Educational Research , 89 (6), 875-916. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319877155 Kraus, M. W., Piff, P. K., Mendoza-Denton, R., Rheinschmidt, M. L., & Keltner, D. (2012). Social class, solipsism, and contextualism: how the rich are different from the poor. Psychol Rev , 119 (3), 546-572. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028756 Kuo, Y.-L., Casillas, A., Walton, K. E., Way, J. D., & Moore, J. L. (2020). The intersectionality of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status on social and emotional skills. Journal of Research in Personality , 84 , 103905. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2019.103905 Levine, D., Pace, A., Luo, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Michnick Golinkoff, R., de Villiers, J., Iglesias, A., & Sweig Wilson, M. (2020). Evaluating socioeconomic gaps in preschoolers’ vocabulary, syntax and language process skills with the Quick Interactive Language Screener (QUILS). Early Childhood Research Quarterly , 50 , 114-128. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.11.006 Liu, G., Zhao, Z., Li, B., Pan, Y., & Cheng, G. (2023). Parental psychological well-being and parental emotional warmth as mediators of the relationship between family socioeconomic status and children’s life satisfaction. Current Psychology , 42 (27), 23958-23965. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03568-z McLaughlin, K. A., Costello, E. J., Leblanc, W., Sampson, N. A., & Kessler, R. C. (2012). Socioeconomic Status and Adolescent Mental Disorders. American Journal of Public Health , 102 (9), 1742-1750. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2011.300477 McNally, S., Darmody, M., & Quigley, J. (2019). The socio-emotional development of language-minority children entering primary school in Ireland. Irish Educational Studies , 38 (4), 519-534. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2019.1663550 Meir, N., & Armon-Lotem, S. (2017). Independent and Combined Effects of Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Bilingualism on Children’s Vocabulary and Verbal Short-Term Memory [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology , 8 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01442 Paradis, J. (2023). Sources of individual differences in the dual language development of heritage bilinguals. Journal of Child Language , 50 (4), 793-817. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000922000708 Petersen, I. T., Bates, J. E., D'Onofrio, B. M., Coyne, C. A., Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., & Van Hulle, C. A. (2013). Language ability predicts the development of behaviour problems in children. J Abnorm Psychol , 122 (2), 542-557. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031963 Peverill, M., Dirks, M. A., Narvaja, T., Herts, K. L., Comer, J. S., & McLaughlin, K. A. (2021). Socioeconomic status and child psychopathology in the United States: A meta-analysis of population-based studies. Clinical Psychology Review , 83 , 101933. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101933 Poarch, G. J., & Krott, A. (2019). A Bilingual Advantage? An Appeal for a Change in Perspective and Recommendations for Future Research. Behavioural Sciences , 9 (9), 95. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/9/9/95 Reiss, F. (2013). Socioeconomic inequalities and mental health problems in children and adolescents: A systematic review. Social Science & Medicine , 90 , 24-31. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.04.026 RStudio, T. (2020). RStudio: Integrated Development for R .In RStudio, PBC. http://www.rstudio.com/ Runge, R. A., & Soellner, R. (2019). Measuring children’s emotional and behavioural problems: are SDQ parent reports from native and immigrant parents comparable? Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health , 13 (1), 46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-019-0306-z Sevinç, Y. (2022). Mindsets and family language pressure: language or anxiety transmission across generations? Journal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development , 43 (9), 874-890. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2038614 Singh, L., & Rajendra, S. J. (2024). Greater attention to socioeconomic status in developmental research can improve the external validity, generalizability, and replicability of developmental science. Developmental Science , n/a (n/a), e13521. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13521 Sirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of Research. Review of Educational Research , 75 (3), 417-453. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543075003417 Strohschein, L. (2005). Household Income Histories and Child Mental Health Trajectories. Journal of Health and Social Behaviour , 46 (4), 359-375. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650504600404 Sun, H. (2019). Home Environment, Bilingual Preschooler’s Receptive Mother Tongue Language Outcomes, and Social-Emotional and Behavioural Skills: One Stone for Two Birds? [Original Research]. Frontiers in Psychology , 10 . https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01640 Sun, H., Yussof, N. T. B., Mohamed, M. B. B. H., Rahim, A. B., Bull, R., Cheung, M. W. L., & Cheong, S. A. (2021). Bilingual language experience and children's social-emotional and behavioural skills: a cross-sectional study of Singapore preschoolers. International Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism , 24 (3), 324-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1461802 Surrain, S., & Luk, G. (2019). Describing bilinguals: A systematic review of labels and descriptions used in the literature between 2005–2015. Bilingualism: Language and Cognition , 22 (2), 401-415. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728917000682 Westermann, G., Mareschal, D., Johnson, M. H., Sirois, S., Spratling, M. W., & Thomas, M. S. C. (2007). Neuroconstructivism. Developmental Science , 10 (1), 75-83. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00567.x Westrupp, E. M., Reilly, S., McKean, C., Law, J., Mensah, F., & Nicholson, J. M. (2020). Vocabulary Development and Trajectories of Behavioural and Emotional Difficulties Via Academic Ability and Peer Problems. Child Development , 91 (2), e365-e382. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13219 Winsler, A., Kim, Y. K., & Richard, E. R. (2014). Socio-emotional skills, behaviour problems, and Spanish competence predict the acquisition of English among English language learners in poverty. Dev Psychol , 50 (9), 2242-2254. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037161 Yew, S. G. K., & O’Kearney, R. (2013). Emotional and behavioural outcomes later in childhood and adolescence for children with specific language impairments: meta-analyses of controlled prospective studies. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry , 54 (5), 516-524. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12009 Yoshikawa, H., Aber, J. L., & Beardslee, W. R. (2012). The effects of poverty on the mental, emotional, and behavioural health of children and youth: implications for prevention. Am Psychol , 67 (4), 272-284. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028015 Zeileis, A., & Hothorn, T. (2002). Diagnostic Checking in Regression Relationships. R News , 2 (3), 7-10. https://CRAN.R-project.org/doc/Rnews/.https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lmtest Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 18 Oct, 2024 Read the published version in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 22 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 21 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 08 Jul, 2024 Reviews received at journal 04 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 04 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 02 Jul, 2024 Reviewers agreed at journal 01 Jul, 2024 Reviewers invited by journal 01 Jul, 2024 Editor assigned by journal 24 Jun, 2024 Submission checks completed at journal 19 Jun, 2024 First submitted to journal 17 Jun, 2024 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-4593204","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":322155085,"identity":"b4b8b11a-ca69-4baa-a96c-3a149190c868","order_by":0,"name":"Paola Bonifacci","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA90lEQVRIie3PP8uCQBzA8Z/8oJbI1SjsLfzCwXw3ygO51N4QIgQ+iy+g5134Ek4OWlsPcvBZnBochRo6+wNBeK0N90XkPPzwuwPQ6b4zgwHIB41Sfli23EjahdI8CFL7p/MkSnMncCMQxAA9UI1x+5yxBgrb7aNRN5t5mB23SVnDPOoiXrrw8xQqx9sijtK9tcqK/He2UxyM2JLYAHiQcZONjVgSESTjgYocTpRfbgTxLElIH4lYEr9PwV47xf9IvF3l8wlVDkniybvM/kQg70LWKO4grvmT/5/WhU0HjqLZRNOhCKuyXkdm58Fe3u/7CqLT6XQ6VVcKh1bgDcxlFgAAAABJRU5ErkJggg==","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bologna","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Paola","middleName":"","lastName":"Bonifacci","suffix":""},{"id":322155086,"identity":"560c1209-6669-47bd-8326-39d77fad8e12","order_by":1,"name":"Viola Ravaldini","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bologna","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Viola","middleName":"","lastName":"Ravaldini","suffix":""},{"id":322155087,"identity":"9b594bff-cc31-4eb0-b4c2-912446603ebb","order_by":2,"name":"Martina Cangelosi","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Bologna","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Martina","middleName":"","lastName":"Cangelosi","suffix":""},{"id":322155088,"identity":"cd89a1b3-be38-436f-a46b-430f2dd5d755","order_by":3,"name":"Valentina Tobia","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University Vita-Salute San Raffaele","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Valentina","middleName":"","lastName":"Tobia","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2024-06-17 09:36:00","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4593204/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4593204/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-024-00823-y","type":"published","date":"2024-10-18T15:57:57+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":67149038,"identity":"2d7545f9-1f66-4238-869f-6152cf3d8411","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2024-10-21 16:11:15","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":830518,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-4593204/v1/e64311d2-9410-4bae-9ca1-c5d20689db09.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Socioeconomic status, linguistic skills and language background differentially relate to preschoolers’ emotional and behavioural profile","fulltext":[{"header":"Key Practitioner Message","content":"\u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is known?\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eSocio-economic Status (SES) and linguistic skills have both been shown to be related to children\u0026rsquo;s socioemotional and behavioural development.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eHeritage bilinguals from migrant backgrounds in preschool years might have increased vulnerability to socioemotional and behavioural difficulties \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is new?\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eLinguistic skills emerged to be the dominant concurrent predictor of socioemotional and behavioural profiles, followed by SES and, marginally, linguistic background.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eLinguistic background was positively associated with prosocial skills. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cul type=\"disc\"\u003e\n \u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat is significant for clinical practice?\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003cul type=\"circle\"\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eWhen considering socioemotional and behavioural difficulties in Heritage Bilinguals, practitioners should adopt a multidimensional approach and pay attention to children\u0026rsquo;s linguistic skills and socioeconomic background, possibly providing early interventions on linguistic skills in preschool settings.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003c/ul\u003e\n \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e"},{"header":"Background","content":"\u003cp\u003eMultidimensional models clearly suggest that environmental (distal) factors interact with individual (proximal) factors in shaping children\u0026rsquo;s developmental trajectories (e.g.,\u0026nbsp;(Bronfenbrenner \u0026amp; Morris, 2007; Westermann et al., 2007); language skills and socio-economic status (SES) have been largely investigated in previous literature as potential protective (or risk) factors for emotional and behavioural children\u0026rsquo;s outcomes. Language skills have been found to be related to emotional and behavioural development in typical\u0026nbsp;(Chow \u0026amp; Wehby, 2018)) and atypical (i.e., with Developmental Language Disorders)\u0026nbsp;(e.g., Curtis et al., 2018; Yew \u0026amp; O\u0026rsquo;Kearney, 2013)\u0026nbsp;populations. More in-depth studies have then explored these trends even in bilingual populations (i.e., children from families with a migratory background)\u0026nbsp;(e.g., Sun et al., 2021). SES has been found to underlie children\u0026rsquo;s discrepancies in academic achievements\u0026nbsp;(Bradley \u0026amp; Corwyn, 2002; Sirin, 2005), linguistic skills\u0026nbsp;(Hoff, 2003, 2006), and socio-emotional well-being\u0026nbsp;(Joshi et al., 1999). However, SES is better viewed as a structural variable rather than an intrinsic characteristic of the family/individual itself\u0026nbsp;(Hannon et al., 2020)\u0026nbsp;and the impact of SES may be modulated by other social and family characteristics\u0026nbsp;(Benzies \u0026amp; Mychasiuk, 2009; Bonifacci et al., 2021). In addition, some meta-analyses\u0026nbsp;(Harwell et al., 2017)\u0026nbsp;found diminished, although significant, effect sizes of the relationship between SES and academic achievement than suggested by previous studies\u0026nbsp;(Coleman, 1968), with the effect size being more robust in more economically developed countries\u0026nbsp;(Kim et al., 2019)\u0026nbsp;and in younger children compared to older ones\u0026nbsp;(Strohschein, 2005).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFollowing globalisation and migration routes, many children attending school in Western countries live in families with a migratory background and are often exposed to one or more heritage languages within the family. For the purpose of the present study, the term \u0026ldquo;heritage bilinguals\u0026rdquo; (HB) will be adopted in line with current literature\u0026nbsp;(Paradis, 2023), although plenty of different labels are available in previous studies\u0026nbsp;(Surrain \u0026amp; Luk, 2019). In preschool years, HB may have lower L2 proficiency given to the still limited exposure to the societal language\u0026nbsp;(Paradis, 2023), and they might experience socio-economic disadvantage. In Italy, where the present study has been carried out, the composite index of poverty and social exclusion is 51% for families with both parents holding non-Italian citizenship compared to 23.4% of families with Italian citizenship\u0026nbsp;(ISTAT, 2011). The present study focuses on understanding the differential contribution of SES and language skills as concurrent predictors of children\u0026rsquo;s socioemotional and behavioural outcomes in a wide sample that includes Italian monolingual children and HB, therefore taking into account family language background as an additional distal factor. \u0026nbsp;\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe relationships between linguistic skills, language background and socio-emotional wellbeing\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAlthough language and emotional/behavioural difficulties often co-occur, the direction of the relationship is harder to define\u0026nbsp;(Hinshaw, 1992). Some authors suggest a bidirectional relationship with reciprocal influences between the two\u0026nbsp;(e.g.,Girard et al., 2016), whereas others support unidirectional pathways as being more likely, with language difficulties as a prominent factor leading to socio-emotional and behavioural difficulties\u0026nbsp;(Bornstein et al., 2013; Petersen et al., 2013). In this line,\u0026nbsp;Westrupp et al. (2020)\u0026nbsp;reported that the main predictor of children\u0026rsquo;s well-being was vocabulary growth from 4 to 9 years rather than vocabulary knowledge at four years. A study by\u0026nbsp;Bichay-Awadalla et al. (2020)\u0026nbsp;reported, instead, different patterns of relationships with socio-emotional development according to different aspects of linguistics skills, with bidirectional patterns for expressive skills and unidirectional patterns for receptive skills. Other perspectives suggest the possibility that the relationship between language skills and emotional and behavioural problems might be mediated by other (third) factors or that behavioural and emotional problems might hinder full language development\u0026nbsp;(Hinshaw, 1992).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome studies have also explored these trends in HB children. Specifically, the literature has found associations between problematic behaviours and lower linguistic competence in bilingual children\u0026nbsp;(Han, 2010; Sun, 2019; Sun et al., 2021; Winsler et al., 2014), with greater externalising behaviours in children with lower L2 language skills\u0026nbsp;(Ara\u0026uacute;jo Dawson \u0026amp; Williams, 2008; McNally et al., 2019).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThere may be adverse factors related to the migratory process of some families, such as interrupted education, poverty, frequent transitions, exposure to violence, and separation from family, that might increase vulnerability (Fazel \u0026amp; Stein, 2002; Hadfield, Ostrowski and Ungar, 2017; Sirin and Rogers-Sirin, 2015). Therefore, language background shouldn\u0026rsquo;t be considered only in terms of language competence but as a more complex variable that includes the potential impact on the child\u0026apos;s well-being of speaking a language at home that\u0026rsquo;s different from the one employed in social contexts. The perception that the heritage language is devalued or under-recognised as a linguistic ability both at school and in social contexts could affect the family climate and, consequently, the child\u0026apos;s well-being. In line with this, some authors reported an increased risk for emotional and behavioural problems in HBs\u0026nbsp;(Belhadj Kouider et al., 2014). On the other hand, positive attitudes towards multilingualism and good connections with heritage language and culture could foster enriched social inclusion, emotional well-being and family cohesion\u0026nbsp;(Cangelosi et al., 2024; De Houwer, 2015; Halle et al., 2014; Hollebeke, 2023; Sevin\u0026ccedil;, 2022).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe relationships between socioeconomic status on children\u0026rsquo;s verbal, emotional and behavioural skills.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe impact of SES on language and socio-emotional outcomes could be explained by multiple mechanisms. On the one side, families from low socioeconomic backgrounds may have less access to materials and information, social resources and educational opportunities (e.g., exposure to books, reading practice, quality of schools, etc.) to support children\u0026apos;s verbal and emotional development (Suggate et al., 2018). In addition, greater economic and social freedom might have repercussions on how resources shape experience and, therefore, on subjective experience\u0026nbsp;(Kraus et al., 2012). We already know from the literature that SES has an impact on children\u0026rsquo;s linguistic skills: for example, vocabulary knowledge and vocabulary growth, syntax and language learning process\u0026nbsp;(Hoff, 2003, 2006; Levine et al., 2020), as well as literacy skills\u0026nbsp;(Bonifacci et al., 2022; Bonifacci et al., 2020)\u0026nbsp;are known to be negatively affected by lower levels of SES. However, previous studies have found high variability within both low- and high-SES families in their home support for learning (i.e., home literacy/numeracy)\u0026nbsp;(Benzies \u0026amp; Mychasiuk, 2009; Elliott, 2020; Hemmerechts et al., 2017). Evidence has been collected on the relationship between SES and verbal abilities in HB populations. SES has been found to be related to HBs\u0026rsquo; L2 vocabulary size\u0026nbsp;(Gathercole et al., 2016; Gatt et al., 2020), productive and receptive morphosyntactic skills\u0026nbsp;(Chiat \u0026amp; Poli\u0026scaron;ensk\u0026aacute;, 2016; Meir \u0026amp; Armon-Lotem, 2017)\u0026nbsp;and discursive-semantic abilities\u0026nbsp;(De Cat, 2020); in the latter study, it was also observed that the greater the cumulative exposure to school language, the stronger the correlation between SES and sentence repetition score.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSES might also have an impact on children\u0026rsquo;s socio-emotional and behavioural development\u0026nbsp;(Kuo et al., 2020)\u0026nbsp;and has been found to be linked to the development of psychopathology and lower academic achievement\u0026nbsp;(Guhn et al., 2020; Reiss, 2013; Sirin, 2005; Yoshikawa et al., 2012). In a meta-analysis\u0026nbsp;(Peverill et al., 2021), it was found that SES was more strongly related to externalising rather than internalising symptoms, but it emerged that the relationship between SES and child psychopathology is likely to vary in different populations of children and in different communities. Furthermore, some authors reported a weak association between SES and psychopathological vulnerability in some ethnic groups\u0026nbsp;(Costello et al., 2001; McLaughlin et al., 2012). The association between SES and psychopathological indicators, therefore, is still a matter of debate, particularly for HB children.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003ePresent study\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eBased on previous literature, multiple relationships emerge among SES, linguistic development, language background, and emotional and behavioural development. However, there is a need for more extensive research that accounts for the influence of both proximal and distal factors on children\u0026rsquo;s outcomes, particularly for the emotional and behavioural dimensions. As evidenced by\u0026nbsp;(Singh \u0026amp; Rajendra, 2024)\u0026nbsp;greater attention to socioeconomic status in developmental research is still needed to increase the generalizability of data in psychological research. This is particularly the case when studying specific populations, as there is a risk of biased inferences if both proximal and distal factors are not accounted for\u0026nbsp;(Paradis, 2023).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe aim of the present study is to investigate, with a multi-informant (parents, teachers) and multi-method (questionnaires, tests) approach, SES, linguistic skills and language background as concurrent predictors of socio-emotional and behavioural skills in HB and monolingual peers attending preschool. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe main research questions are the following:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e1) Do linguistic skills, socioemotional and behavioural skills differ in HB compared to monolingual peers?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis comparison should be considered as a preliminary exploration of how group differences work when other variables are not taken into account and to justify the inclusion of the dichotomic (HB vs monolinguals) group variable in the following analyses. Based on previous literature, we expect HB to underperform in L2 linguistic skills compared to monolingual peers due to the lack of sufficient exposure to the Italian language in preschool years (Bonifacci et al., 2018; Bonifacci et al., 2016; Paradis, 2023). Conversely, mixed results were found regarding the socio-emotional domain, with some studies reporting more emotional and behavioural discomfort in bilinguals and others reporting some advantages (e.g., Belhadj Kouider et al., 2014; Halle et al., 2014); the analysis of differences for these variables is, therefore, mainly explorative.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e2) What is the relative impact of linguistic background, SES and linguistic skills on socioemotional and behavioural skills in HB and monolingual peers? Given that previous literature highlighted influences of linguistic background, linguistic skills and SES on socioemotional and behavioural skills, we wanted to analyse the differential impact of linguistic background, SES and linguistic skills, considered together, on children\u0026rsquo;s socioemotional and behavioural skills. We expect SES\u0026nbsp;(Guhn et al., 2020; Kuo et al., 2020; Peverill et al., 2021; Reiss, 2013; Sirin, 2005; Yoshikawa et al., 2012)\u0026nbsp;and linguistic skills\u0026nbsp;(Bichay-Awadalla et al., 2020; Bornstein et al., 2013; Petersen et al., 2013)\u0026nbsp;to be the main predictors of children\u0026rsquo;s well-being, and once accounted for these variables, to observe a marginal role of HB \u003cem\u003eper se\u003c/em\u003e.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Method","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eParticipants\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe study involved a community sample of 1810 children (48.9% females, mean age = 63.42 months ± 7.36) attending the second and third year of 58 public all-day preschools, located in areas in the Municipality of Bologna (Italy). Within this sample, 1261 (females = 49%, mean age: 63.52 ± 7.39) children were from families speaking mainly Italian in the family context (monolinguals), and 549 (females = 49.0%, mean age: 63.18 ± 7.29) were HB children. All participants declared to speak a heritage language in the family context, as emerged by school reports and parents’ questionnaires; most families had a migrant background, with one parent (29.3%) or both (59.4%) born in another country, whereas 11.3% had both parents speaking a heritage language in the family but were born in Italy. The main languages spoken were Arabic (18.6%), Romanian (18.2%), Pidgin English (8.6%), Albanian (7.8%), Bengali (7.3%), Spanish (7.3%), Urdu (5.8%), Russian (4.4%), African French (2.2%), Tagalog (3.3%), Chinese (1.8%), Portuguese (1.6%), Ukrainian (1.5%), Sinhali (1.4%), Greek (1.3%), Polish (1.3%), others (7.6%, all \u0026lt; 1%, e.g., Serbian, Tamil, Bulgarian, Somali, etc.). A small portion (1.05%) of the sample (n = 19) had a certified mild disability. All parents filled in the study questionnaire (see below for details). Then, for each child, a teacher filled in a questionnaire, for a total of 99 teachers involved. Teachers filled in the questionnaire for a variable number of children depending on how many families adhered to the study in each class. The Vocabulary task (see below for details) was administered to a subsample of 995 children, of which 31.76% are in the HB group. The Italian preschool system involves children aged from 3 to 6 years old and is structured as follows: a three-year program during which no formal teaching of literacy is provided. However, the children might be engaged in activities to improve their language skills in playful activities.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMaterials\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eQuestionnaires for parents\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eSocio-Economic Status (SES).\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eParents completed the Hollingshead Four Factor Index of Social Status. To achieve a composite score for each child’s SES, information regarding both parents’ educational level and occupation was scored from 1 to 7 for educational level and 1 to 9 for occupation. Then, SES scores for each parent were calculated using the formula (educational level*3 + occupation*5); the mean between parents’ SES was used as the child’s SES. In the case of single parents, their unique score was used. The minimum and maximum scores ranged from 8 to 66.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eStrengths and Difficulties Questionnaire.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/em\u003eThe single-sided version of the SDQ-parents\u0026nbsp;(Goodman, 2001)\u0026nbsp;was administered. The SDQ is available in many languages and parents were offered the possibility to access their preferred language when requested. The questionnaire has been found to be concordant for both native and immigrant parents\u0026nbsp;(Runge \u0026amp; Soellner, 2019). This questionnaire includes 25 items describing positive and negative behavioural traits; respondents use a 3-point Likert-type scale (0 = not true, 1 = somewhat true, and 2 = certainly true) to rate each item referring to the son/daughter. The 25 items are divided among the following five scales (reliability scores calculated on the study sample): Emotional Symptoms (α = .66), Conduct Problems (α = .53), Hyperactivity-Inattention (α = .70), Peer Relationship Problems (α = .60), Prosocial Behaviour (α = .65). A higher score corresponds to more severe difficulties on the four scales describing negative behaviours. On the Prosocial Behaviour scale, a higher score indicates more positive behaviours. For each scale, the maximum score is 10. \u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eQuestionnaire for teachers\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eChildren’s early linguistic skills and emotional-behavioural profile were assessed with a proxy-report questionnaire administered to their teachers. The whole questionnaire consists of 20 items (Authors, 2021, 2023, in preparation), developed based on the early cognitive, literacy, numeracy, and behavioural skills deemed adequate for preschoolers based on the Italian curriculum and the previous literature. The questions were first qualitatively validated by groups of teachers who provided feedback on the items' clarity. For each item, the name of the competence was accompanied by a short definition and some examples (e.g., \u003cem\u003ephonological awareness\u003c/em\u003e: “It refers to the child's ability to perform fusion/segmentation tasks, such as splitting or joining the pieces of the word banana: ba-na-na). For the aim of the present study, we considered only two subscales:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eLinguistic skills (Five items: phonological awareness, morphosyntactic comprehension and production, narrative skills, pre-writing skills);\u0026nbsp;\u003c/li\u003e\n \u003cli\u003eBehavioural profile (Four items: the ability to respect waiting time, sociality, emotional resources, interest in activities).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe teachers rated their evaluations of the children’s skills on a five-point Likert scale from “never/absent” to “always/excellent competence”. The Cronbach’s alpha for the scales is .904 for the linguistic area and .968 for the behavioural area.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eChildren’s expressive vocabulary:\u003c/em\u003e The early language skills of the children were assessed through the expressive vocabulary task from the Learning Difficulties Indexes – IDA\u0026nbsp;(Bonifacci et al., 2015). In this task, children were asked to name 36 images disposed on three grids, with 12 images each selected for decreasing frequency in spoken language\u0026nbsp;(Burani et al., 2001). The accuracy score, ranging from 0 to 36 (1 point for each correct answer), was considered. The Cronbach’s alpha of the scale was 0.85, according to the test manual.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eProcedure\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eQuestionnaires on SES and SDQ were provided to parents as paper and pencil questionnaires. Parents could complete it together or by who spends more time with the child, usually the mother. The teachers were required to complete the questionnaire for each child within one month to allow them to observe the children’s linguistic skills and emotional and behavioural skills. Early language tasks were administered individually by a trained psychologist in a quiet room at the children’s school\u0026nbsp;in a single session lasting about 10 min.\u0026nbsp;Special attention was given to ascertaining children had correctly understood the instructions. Participants involved in the study gave informed consent, the study was conducted in accordance in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the University of Bologna Bioethical Committee approved the project (Prot. 322431, December 21, 2021).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData analysis\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe ran the analysis using the program RStudio 1.0.153 (RStudio, 2020). We used the “hmisc” package (Harrell, 2023) for the correlation analysis. We used the “lmtest”(Zeileis \u0026amp; Hothorn, 2002) and “car” (Fox \u0026amp; Weisberg, 2019) for our main analyses. The “relaimpo” (Groemping, 2006)has been used to compute the dominance analysis for every model. As preliminary analyses, correlations among the main variables of the study are reported. Then, we first meant to verify group differences (monolinguals vs HB) across the main measures considered through Welch Two Sample t-tests. The second set of models aimed to understand how language background (dichotomic variable), together with SES and verbal knowledge (continuous variables), related respectively to parents’ and teachers’ evaluation of children’s socioemotional and behavioural skills (measured through SDQ and ad-hoc teacher questionnaire respectively). Given the high correlation between the vocabulary task and the assessment of linguistic skills through teachers’ questionnaire (r = .550), we decided to include only the latter variable to avoid collinearity and consider a wider sample.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Results","content":"\u003cp\u003eCorrelations among the main variables of the study are reported in Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eCorrelations among the main variables of the study\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSES\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eVocabulary^ (1)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.436**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic skills (TE)\u0026deg; (2)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.377**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.550**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotion \u0026amp; Behaviour (TE)\u0026deg; (3)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.168**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.253**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.665**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSDQ - Emotional symptoms (4)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.107**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.092**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.079**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.042\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSDQ - Conduct Problems (5)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.061**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.075*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.095**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.186**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.277**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSDQ - Hyperactivity/inattention (6)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.185**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.128**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.206**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.272**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.236**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.423**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSDQ - Peer Relationship Problems (7)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.237**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.238**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.239**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.144**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.507**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.199**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.191**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSDQ - Prosocial Behaviour\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.090**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.039\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.049*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e.111**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.247**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.343**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.287**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;.273**\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003e**p \u0026lt;. 01; * p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003e^ N\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;955, \u0026deg;TE\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;Teacher Evaluation\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; Insert Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e about here \u0026gt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eGroup differences.\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs it can be argued from Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e, HB belonged to an averagely lower socioeconomic background compared to monolinguals and performed significantly worse in the vocabulary task, in linguistic skills, and in the behavioural profile according to the teacher\u0026rsquo;s evaluation. Concerning SDQ Scales, except for the behavioural scale, bilinguals had significantly higher rates of reported difficulties in all domains. However, they also had higher values on the Prosocial Skills Scale, meaning that they tend to be more prosocial in comparison with their monolingual peers.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWelch Two Sample T-tests.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"9\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c7\" colnum=\"7\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c8\" colnum=\"8\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c9\" colnum=\"9\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSubscale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eHB\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Mean)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eMonolinguals(Mean)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003edf\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95% CI (Lower)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e95% CI (Upper)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSES\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e29.426\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43.654\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-21.929\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1016.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-15.501\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-12.955\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic skills\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.518\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.217\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-13.534\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e835.32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.800\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.598\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSEB Skills^\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.769\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.990\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-4.744\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e931.15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.314\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.130\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\" morerows=\"4\" rowspan=\"5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSDQ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEmotions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.047\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.641\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.241\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e966.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.218\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.593\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eConduct\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.677\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.642\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.451\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1005.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ens\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.119\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.190\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eADHD\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.718\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.270\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.060\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1099.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.231\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.663\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePeer Relations\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.124\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.250\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e10.075\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e984.18\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.124\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.250\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProsocial Behaviour\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.179\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.789\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.443\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1110.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c7\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c8\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e8.179\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c9\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.788\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003eNote. The table displays the results of Welch Two Sample T-tests comparing the means of HB and Monolinguals for each variable, with its subscales. p-values less than .05 are considered statistically significant.\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"9\"\u003e^Socioemotional and behavioural\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; Insert Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e about here \u0026gt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cdiv id=\"Sec12\" class=\"Section2\"\u003e \u003ch2\u003eConcurrent predictors of socio-emotional and behavioural profile\u003c/h2\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cspan type=\"Underline\" class=\"Underline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eEmotional Symptoms.\u003c/span\u003e The categorical variable Language Background was significant (\u003cem\u003ep\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;.05, β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.240), meaning that bilinguals have averagely worst emotional patterns. The continuous variable \u0026lsquo;linguistic skills\u0026rsquo; was not significant (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.188), while SES was significant (\u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05, β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.008), meaning that children coming from higher socioeconomic status families show overall less emotional problems. The dominance analysis reveals that SES\u0026rsquo; contribution seems to be particularly relevant in the present model.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; Insert Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e about here \u0026gt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel on SDQ Emotional Problems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eΒ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStd. Error\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePr(\u0026gt;|t|)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDominance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Intercept)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.522\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.190\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e13.244\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLanguage background\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.240\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.106\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-2.264\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.006\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic skills\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.064\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.048\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.319\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.188\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSES\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.008\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-2.421\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.05\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cspan type=\"Underline\" class=\"Underline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eConduct problems.\u003c/span\u003e The categorial variable Language Background was not significant (\u003cem\u003ep\u0026thinsp;=\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;.128).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe continuous variable linguistic skills was significant, with p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001, with a negative estimate β = -0.144, meaning that children with higher performance in the verbal domain show fewer conduct problems. On the contrary, SES was not significant, with a \u003cem\u003ep\u0026thinsp;=\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;.094. The dominance analysis reveals that linguistic skills contribution seems to be particularly relevant in the present model.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; Insert Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e about here \u0026gt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel on SDQ conduct problems.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eΒ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStd. Error\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePr(\u0026gt;|t|)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDominance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Intercept)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e2.329\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.159\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.624\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLanguage background\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.135\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.089\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.524\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.127\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic skills\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.144\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.041\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-3.556\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.008\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSES\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.005\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-1.678\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.093\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cspan type=\"Underline\" class=\"Underline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eHyperactivity/Inattention scale\u003c/span\u003e. The categorial variable Language Background was not significant (\u003cem\u003ep\u0026thinsp;=\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;.375). The continuous variables linguistic skills and SES were both significant, with \u003cem\u003ep\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;.001, β = -0.374 and β = -0.020, meaning that children with higher performance in the verbal domain show fewer hyperactivity/inattention problems, as well as children coming from higher SES families. The dominance analysis reveals that the contribution of linguistic skills emerges as particularly significant in the current model, demonstrating a stronger and more influential association compared to the other variables examined.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; Insert Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e around here \u0026gt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel on SDQ Hyperactivity/Inattention scale\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStd. Error\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePr(\u0026gt;|t|)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDominance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Intercept)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e5.650\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.227\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.887\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLanguage background\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.112\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.126\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.888\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.375\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic skills\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.374\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.058\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-6.479\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.031\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSES\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.021\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-5.005\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.022\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cspan type=\"Underline\" class=\"Underline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003ePeer relationship problems.\u003c/span\u003e The categorial variable Language Background was significant (\u003cem\u003ep\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;.001) with a positive estimate (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.485). This result indicates that HBs have average higher peer relationship problems compared to monolinguals. The continuous variables linguistic skills and SES were both significant, both with p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001, β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.265 and β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.014, meaning that children with an averagely better performance in linguistic skills, as well as children coming from higher socioeconomic status families, show overall fewer peer relationships problems. The dominance analysis indicates that linguistic skills appear to be notably significant within the present model, suggesting a pronounced influence compared to other variables under investigation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; Insert Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e about here \u0026gt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel on SDQ Peer relationship problem scale.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStd. Error\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePr(\u0026gt;|t|)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDominance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Intercept)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e3.479\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.171\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.347\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLanguage background\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.485\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.095\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-5.089\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.031\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic skills\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.265\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.044\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-6.093\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.034\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSES\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.014\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-4.557\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.030\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cspan type=\"Underline\" class=\"Underline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eProsocial behaviour scale.\u003c/span\u003e The categorial variable language background was significant (\u003cem\u003ep\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;.001) with a positive estimate (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.383). This result means that bilinguals have an average higher prosocial behaviour. The continuous linguistic skills and SES were both significant, both with p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001, but with a positive estimate for linguistic skills (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.212) and a negative estimate for SES (β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;\u0026minus;\u0026thinsp;0.010), meaning that children with better linguistic skills have better prosocial behaviour, but those coming from higher socioeconomic status families show worse prosocial behaviour skills. The dominance analysis underscores the notable significance of bilingualism's contribution within the current model, indicating a discernible impact that surpasses that of other variables under examination.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; Insert Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e about here \u0026gt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab7\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 7\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel on SDQ Prosocial behaviour scale.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStd. Error\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePr(\u0026gt;|t|)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDominance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Intercept)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e7.753\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.185\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e41.891\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLanguage background\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.383\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.103\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-3.720\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic skills\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.212\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.047\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e4.512\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSES\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.011\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.003\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-3.202\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.007\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cspan type=\"Underline\" class=\"Underline\" name=\"Emphasis\"\u003eTeachers\u0026rsquo; evaluation on children\u0026rsquo;s socioemotional and behavioural skills.\u003c/span\u003e Concerning the model on teachers\u0026rsquo; evaluation of children\u0026rsquo;s socioemotional and behavioural skills, language background turned out to be significant, with p\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001 and β = -0.183, meaning that teachers evaluated bilingual children as with minor socioemotional and behavioural skills. Linguistic skills and SES also turned out to be significant with \u003cem\u003ep\u003c/em\u003e\u0026thinsp;\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001, respectively with β\u0026thinsp;=\u0026thinsp;0.653 and β = -0.003, indicating that children with higher linguistic skills are evaluated as significantly better in terms of socioemotional and behavioural skills. On the contrary, children with higher SES are evaluated as significantly worst in terms of socioemotional and behavioural skills. The dominance analysis highlights the substantial relevance of linguistic skills within the current model, indicating a pronounced influence that exceeds that of other variables under investigation.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt; Insert Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab8\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e8\u003c/span\u003e about here \u0026gt;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab8\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 8\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eModel on teachers\u0026rsquo; evaluation of socioemotional and behavioural skills.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"6\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c4\" colnum=\"4\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c5\" colnum=\"5\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c6\" colnum=\"6\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eβ\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eStd. Error\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003et\u003c/em\u003e value\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePr(\u0026gt;|t|)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eDominance\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e(Intercept)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e1.578\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.068\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e23.187\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLanguage background\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.182\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.038\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-4.818\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.009\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLinguistic skills\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.653\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.017\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37.747\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.434\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eSES\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-0.004\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.001\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c4\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e-2.928\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c5\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u0026lt;\u0026thinsp;.01\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c6\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e0.014\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e"},{"header":"Discussion","content":"\u003cp\u003eThe present study investigated the differential contribution of language background (monolinguals vs HB), SES and linguistic skills on children\u0026rsquo;s emotional and behavioural profiles.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn line with previous literature that reported, although with contrasting results, weaker vocabulary and linguistic skills in L2 for HB preschoolers (Paradis, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e) and an increased risk for emotional and behavioural problems (Belhadj Kouider et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e) in HB children, we first assessed group differences on the main variables included in the study. Based on dichotomic comparison, a picture of increased emotional problems, hyperactivity/impulsivity traits and peer relationship difficulties emerged in HB children, compared to the monolingual group. There were no differences in conduct problems and an advantage in prosocial behaviour in HBs, based on parents\u0026rsquo; reports. Also, this group received lower scores in the evaluation of emotional and behavioural skills, according to teachers\u0026rsquo; reports. Together, HBs had lower SES and linguistics skills, the latter measured either through direct assessment (vocabulary task) or teachers\u0026rsquo; evaluations, compared to children from monolingual backgrounds. This first set of results might suggest, in line with previous studies, that HB children might be at higher risk of emotional and behavioural difficulties (Belhadj Kouider et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eHowever, this representation might oversimplify a complex phenomenon and the study aimed to delve deeper into this initial picture and add new evidence through an analysis of the differential relationships of language background, together with composite measures of SES and linguistic skills evaluation with emotional and behavioural profile. The five main dimensions of the SDQ questionnaire (parents\u0026rsquo; reports) were considered independently, together with teachers\u0026rsquo; evaluations of children\u0026rsquo;s emotional and behavioural skills.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eTo sum up, moving from dichotomic group analyses to regression models that consider and control the differential role of language background, SES and linguistic skills, a more complex pattern of relationships emerged. Linguistic skills were actually found to be the unique concurrent predictor for conduct problems and the dominant predictor for the hyperactivity/impulsivity traits, the problems in peer relationships and the emotional and behavioural skills evaluated by teachers. Also, linguistic skills positively predicted prosocial behaviour. However, linguistic skills were not significantly related to emotional problems as assessed by parents, which had SES as their main predictor instead, followed by language background. However, there was also a negative significant relationship between lower SES and hyperactivity/impulsivity traits, problems in peer relationships, and prosocial behaviour. Higher SES also predicted better emotional and behavioural skills according to teacher evaluation. Finally, HB background was associated, but not as a primary predictor, with increased emotional problems and peer relationship problems as assessed by parents, and minor emotional and behavioural skills as assessed by teachers. However, it was the main factor to be positively associated with prosocial behaviour.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis picture can be interpreted in light of previous literature, suggesting a main association of linguistic skills with children\u0026rsquo;s behavioural profiles, with particular emphasis on externalising traits and social relationships (Bichay-Awadalla et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR4\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Bornstein et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Chow \u0026amp; Wehby, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e; Petersen et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR53\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Sun et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR64\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e). This study was conducted on a typical population, suggesting that the children who have lower linguistic skills might encounter more difficulties in peer relationships and might show increased behavioural problems, possibly due to minor access to verbal communication. SES turned out to have a priority association with emotional problems, in line with previous literature (Guhn et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR31\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e; Reiss, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR56\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2013\u003c/span\u003e; Sirin, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR61\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2005\u003c/span\u003e; Yoshikawa et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR70\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2012\u003c/span\u003e), suggesting that resources might shape subjective experiences. Differently from what is stated by (Peverill et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR54\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e), findings from the present study seem to suggest a main association with internalising rather than externalising symptoms. Also, SES generally resulted as a non-dominant factor compared to linguistic skills in predicting patterns of socioemotional and behavioural difficulties, suggesting that proximal factors might be prominent over distal factors. This sheds light on the idea that the influence of SES should not be viewed as deterministic or inherent to individuals (Hannon et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR34\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e), but rather as a structural variable or a constraint, according to the neuroconstructivist perspective (Westermann et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR66\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2007\u003c/span\u003e), which individuals and society can intervene on. In this regard, previous literature found that the family environment can mediate the influence of SES on children\u0026rsquo;s early achievements and well-being (e.g.,Bonifacci et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2021\u003c/span\u003e; Liu et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR48\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e)\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinally, as hypothesised, the strength of the relationship between language background and socioemotional and behavioural problems was less conspicuous, although still present, when linguistic skills and SES were taken into account. As outlined by Ara\u0026uacute;jo Dawson and Williams (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR1\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2008\u003c/span\u003e), language status can act as an acculturative stressor throughout the early school experience and can negatively affect well-being. However, an innovative result is increased prosocial behaviours in HB children, whilst lower in high SES children. So, even if HB children might experience a degree of increased difficulty in engaging in peer relationships and might be more at risk for emotional problems, they seem to have active coping strategies that bring them to engage in prosocial behaviours. As previous literature suggests, bilingualism might be associated with both cognitive and everyday life advantages (Bonifacci et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e; Poarch \u0026amp; Krott, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR55\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study presents some limitations that need to be acknowledged. First of all, results are based on a concurrent design, and this does not allow the definition of causal patterns. As previous evidence suggested (Hinshaw, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR38\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e1992\u003c/span\u003e), bidirectional relationships are also possible, at least in terms of linguistic skills and emotional patterns. It is, instead, more plausible to assume unidirectional patterns of SES and HB to emotional well-being. Secondly, teachers\u0026rsquo; evaluation might also be biased by a halo effect that might lead to high correlations between linguistic and behavioural judgments. Also, the teacher's prejudices against low-SES children could influence their competence assessment. However, correlation analyses highlighted that vocabulary skills were more strongly related to the teachers\u0026rsquo; evaluation of linguistic skills than to behavioural items. Finally, the present study did not take into account important sources of heterogeneity in the HB sample (e.g., linguistic input, age of exposure) (Paradis, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR52\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e), and future investigation should also consider positive and negative attitudes toward heritage language in the child and the family (Cangelosi et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e; De Houwer, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR23\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2015\u003c/span\u003e; Halle et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR32\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Hollebeke, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR41\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2023\u003c/span\u003e; Sevin\u0026ccedil;, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR59\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e) in order to better investigate under which circumstances HB might be at greater risk of emotional discomfort.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Conclusions","content":"\u003cp\u003eDespite its limitations, the present study highlights some innovative patterns that might represent new evidence of the differential relationship between SES, linguistic skills and language background on children\u0026rsquo;s socioemotional and behavioural profiles and might lead to potential implications for research and practice. Linguistic skills and, secondly, SES turned out to be the dominant factors associated with socio-emotional and behavioural well-being. Heritage bilinguals might be at higher risk of emotional discomfort but they also show some advantages in prosocial behaviour, unlike children with higher SES. Finally, the study has been conducted in Italy, where minor evidence has been collected so far on the relationship between the above-cited variables.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs regards the potential implications, also in line with Singh and Rajendra (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR60\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2024\u003c/span\u003e), these results underline the importance of including composite measures of SES in psychological research and suggest that \u003cem\u003eboth\u003c/em\u003e linguistic skills and SES should be included when investigating children\u0026rsquo;s socioemotional and behavioural well-being, going beyond categorical group comparisons. In terms of practice, it further reinforces the significance of early interventions on linguistic skills in preschool settings. Further, the study highlights the importance of encouraging a multidimensional approach among educators and clinicians when faced with children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, specifically in the case of HB, developing multiple hypotheses on the factors underlying the discomfort and favouring multi-component interventions.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConflict of Interest Statement:\u003c/strong\u003e No conflict of interest\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFunding:\u003c/strong\u003e The was conducted within the collaboration agreement funded by Municipality of Bologna, \u0026ldquo;Convenzione per la definizione di attivit\u0026agrave; di ricerca e progettazione volte alla definizione di un sistema di percorsi di qualificazione dell\u0026rsquo;offerta formativa delle scuole dell\u0026rsquo;infanzia e per la formazione di personale educativo e docente, A.A. 2021/2022\u0026rdquo; [Agreement for the definition of research and planning activities aimed at defining a system of qualification paths for the educational offer of kindergartens and for the training of educational and teaching staff, a.y. 2021/22]\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eData Availability Statement:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eThe data that support the findings of this study are openly available in PsychArchives at https://doi.org/10.23668/psycharchives.14488\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eEthics:\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003eParticipants involved in the study gave informed consent, the study was conducted in accordance in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and the University of Bologna Bioethical Committee approved the project (Prot. 322431, December 21, 2021).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAcknowledgements:\u003c/strong\u003e we thank Chiara Vassura, Diego Compiani, Alexandra Affranti and Benedetta Peri for collaboration in data collection.\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAuthor Contribution\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eConceptualization, P.B. and V.T.; methodology, P.B., V.T.; formal analysis, M.G.; investigation, V.R.; resources, P.B.; data curation, P.B., V.T., M.G.; writing\u0026mdash;original draft preparation, V.D., P.B., M.G.; writing\u0026mdash;review and editing, P.B., V.T.; supervision, P.B. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAra\u0026uacute;jo Dawson, B., \u0026amp; Williams, S. A. (2008). The Impact of Language Status as an Acculturative Stressor on Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviours among Latino/a Children: A Longitudinal Analysis from School Entry through Third Grade. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Youth and Adolescence\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 37\u003c/em\u003e(4), 399-411. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-007-9233-z \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBelhadj Kouider, E., Koglin, U., \u0026amp; Petermann, F. (2014). Emotional and behavioural problems in migrant children and adolescents in Europe: a systematic review. \u003cem\u003eEuropean Child \u0026amp; Adolescent Psychiatry\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 23\u003c/em\u003e(6), 373-391. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00787-013-0485-8 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBenzies, K., \u0026amp; Mychasiuk, R. (2009). Fostering family resiliency: a review of the key protective factors. \u003cem\u003eChild \u0026amp; Family Social Work\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 14\u003c/em\u003e(1), 103-114. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2008.00586.x \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBichay-Awadalla, K., Qi, C. H., Bulotsky-Shearer, R. J., \u0026amp; Carta, J. J. (2020). Bidirectional Relationship Between Language Skills and Behaviour Problems in Preschool Children From Low-Income Families. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Emotional and Behavioural Disorders\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 28\u003c/em\u003e(2), 114-128. https://doi.org/10.1177/1063426619853535 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBonifacci, P., Barbieri, M., Tomassini, M., \u0026amp; Roch, M. (2018). In few words: linguistic gap but adequate narrative structure in preschool bilingual children. \u003cem\u003eJ Child Lang\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 45\u003c/em\u003e(1), 120-147. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000917000149 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBonifacci, P., Compiani, D., Affranti, A., \u0026amp; Peri, B. (2021). Home Literacy and Numeracy Interact and Mediate the Relationship Between Socio-Economic Status and Early Linguistic and Numeracy Skills in Preschoolers [Original Research]. \u003cem\u003eFrontiers in Psychology\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 12\u003c/em\u003e. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.662265 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBonifacci, P., Ferrara, I. C., Pedrinazzi, J., Terracina, F., \u0026amp; Palladino, P. (2022). Literacy Acquisition Trajectories in Bilingual Language Minority Children and Monolingual Peers with Similar or Different SES: A Three-Year Longitudinal Study. \u003cem\u003eBrain Sci\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 12\u003c/em\u003e(5). https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050563 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBonifacci, P., Giombini, L., Bellocchi, S., \u0026amp; Contento, S. (2011). Speed of processing, anticipation, inhibition and working memory in bilinguals. \u003cem\u003eDev Sci\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 14\u003c/em\u003e(2), 256-269. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.00974.x \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBonifacci, P., Giuliano, P., Pellizzari, C., \u0026amp; Serra, P. (2015). \u003cem\u003eIDA - Indicatori delle Difficolt\u0026agrave; di Apprendimento\u003c/em\u003e. Hogrefe. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBonifacci, P., Lombardo, G., Pedrinazzi, J., Terracina, F., \u0026amp; Palladino, P. (2020). Literacy Skills in Bilinguals and Monolinguals with Different SES. \u003cem\u003eReading \u0026amp; Writing Quarterly\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 36\u003c/em\u003e(3), 243-259. https://doi.org/10.1080/10573569.2019.1635057 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBonifacci, P., Tobia, V., Bernabini, L., \u0026amp; Marzocchi, G. M. (2016). Early Literacy and Numeracy Skills in Bilingual Minority Children: Toward a Relative Independence of Linguistic and Numerical Processing. \u003cem\u003eFront Psychol\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 7\u003c/em\u003e, 1020. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01020 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBornstein, M. H., Hahn, C.-S., \u0026amp; Suwalsky, J. T. D. (2013). Language and internalizing and externalizing behavioural adjustment: Developmental pathways from childhood to adolescence. \u003cem\u003eDevelopment and Psychopathology\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 25\u003c/em\u003e(3), 857-878. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954579413000217 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBradley, R. H., \u0026amp; Corwyn, R. F. (2002). Socioeconomic Status and Child Development. \u003cem\u003eAnnual Review of Psychology\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 53\u003c/em\u003e(Volume 53, 2002), 371-399. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.135233 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBronfenbrenner, U., \u0026amp; Morris, P. A. (2007). The Bioecological Model of Human Development. In \u003cem\u003eHandbook of Child Psychology\u003c/em\u003e. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470147658.chpsy0114 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBurani, C., Barca, L., \u0026amp; Arduino, L. S. (2001). Una base di dati sui valori di et\u0026agrave; di acquisizione, frequenza, familiarit\u0026agrave;, immaginabilit\u0026agrave;, concretezza, e altre variabili lessicali e sublessicali per 626 nomi dell\u0026apos;italiano. \u003cem\u003eGiornale Italiano di Psicologia\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 4\u003c/em\u003e, 839-856. https://doi.org/10.1421/379 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCangelosi, M., Borghetti, C., \u0026amp; Bonifacci, P. (2024). How Parents\u0026rsquo; Perceived Value of the Heritage Language Predicts Their Children\u0026rsquo;s Skills. \u003cem\u003eLanguages\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 9\u003c/em\u003e(3), 80. https://www.mdpi.com/2226-471X/9/3/80 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChiat, S., \u0026amp; Poli\u0026scaron;ensk\u0026aacute;, K. (2016). A Framework for Crosslinguistic Nonword Repetition Tests: Effects of Bilingualism and Socioeconomic Status on Children\u0026apos;s Performance. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Speech, Language, and Hearing Research\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 59\u003c/em\u003e(5), 1179-1189. https://doi.org/doi:10.1044/2016_JSLHR-L-15-0293 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChow, J. C., \u0026amp; Wehby, J. H. (2018). Associations Between Language and Problem Behaviour: a Systematic Review and Correlational Meta-analysis. \u003cem\u003eEducational Psychology Review\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 30\u003c/em\u003e(1), 61-82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9385-z \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eColeman, J. S. (1968). EQUALITY OF EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY. \u003cem\u003eEquity \u0026amp; Excellence in Education\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 6\u003c/em\u003e(5), 19-28. https://doi.org/10.1080/0020486680060504 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCostello, E. J., Keeler, G. P., \u0026amp; Angold, A. (2001). Poverty, Race/Ethnicity, and Psychiatric Disorder: A Study of Rural Children. \u003cem\u003eAmerican Journal of Public Health\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 91\u003c/em\u003e(9), 1494-1498. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.91.9.1494 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCurtis, P. R., Frey, J. R., Watson, C. D., Hampton, L. H., \u0026amp; Roberts, M. Y. (2018). Language Disorders and Problem Behaviours: A Meta-analysis. \u003cem\u003ePediatrics\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 142\u003c/em\u003e(2). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2017-3551 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDe Cat, C. (2020). PREDICTING LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY IN BILINGUAL CHILDREN. \u003cem\u003eStudies in Second Language Acquisition\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 42\u003c/em\u003e(2), 279-325. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0272263119000597 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDe Houwer, A. (2015). Harmonious bilingual development: Young families\u0026rsquo; well-being in language contact situations. \u003cem\u003eInternational Journal of Bilingualism\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 19\u003c/em\u003e(2), 169-184. https://doi.org/10.1177/1367006913489202 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eElliott, L. (2020). Sources of heterogeneity in the home learning environments of socioeconomically disadvantaged families. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Applied Developmental Psychology\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 70\u003c/em\u003e, 101190. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101190 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFox, J., \u0026amp; Weisberg, S. (2019). \u003cem\u003eAn R Companion to Applied Regression. Third Edition\u003c/em\u003e. Sage. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGathercole, V. C. M., Kennedy, I., \u0026amp; Thomas, E. M. (2016). Socioeconomic level and bilinguals\u0026rsquo; performance on language and cognitive measures. \u003cem\u003eBilingualism: Language and Cognition\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 19\u003c/em\u003e(5), 1057-1078. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728915000504 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGatt, D., Baldacchino, R., \u0026amp; Dodd, B. (2020). Which measure of socioeconomic status best predicts bilingual lexical abilities and how? A focus on four-year-olds exposed to two majority languages. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Child Language\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 47\u003c/em\u003e(4), 737-765. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000919000886 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGirard, L.-C., Pingault, J.-B., Doyle, O., Falissard, B., \u0026amp; Tremblay, R. E. (2016). Developmental Associations Between Conduct Problems and Expressive Language in Early Childhood: A Population-Based Study. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Abnormal Child Psychology\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 44\u003c/em\u003e(6), 1033-1043. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-015-0094-8 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGoodman, R. (2001). Psychometric Properties of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. \u003cem\u003eJournal of the American Academy of Child \u0026amp; Adolescent Psychiatry\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 40\u003c/em\u003e(11), 1337-1345. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1097/00004583-200111000-00015 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGroemping, U. (2006). Relative Importance for Linear Regression in R: The Package relaimpo. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Statistical Software\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 17\u003c/em\u003e(1), 1 - 27. https://doi.org/10.18637/jss.v017.i01 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGuhn, M., Emerson, S. D., Mahdaviani, D., \u0026amp; Gadermann, A. M. (2020). Associations of Birth Factors and Socio-Economic Status with Indicators of Early Emotional Development and Mental Health in Childhood: A Population-Based Linkage Study. \u003cem\u003eChild Psychiatry \u0026amp; Human Development\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 51\u003c/em\u003e(1), 80-93. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-019-00912-6 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHalle, T. G., Whittaker, J. V., Zepeda, M., Rothenberg, L., Anderson, R., Daneri, P., Wessel, J., \u0026amp; Buysse, V. (2014). The social\u0026ndash;emotional development of dual language learners: Looking back at existing research and moving forward with purpose. \u003cem\u003eEarly Childhood Research Quarterly\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 29\u003c/em\u003e(4), 734-749. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2013.12.002 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHan, W.-J. (2010). Bilingualism and socioemotional well-being. \u003cem\u003eChildren and Youth Services Review\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 32\u003c/em\u003e(5), 720-731. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.01.009 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHannon, P., Nutbrown, C., \u0026amp; Morgan, A. (2020). Effects of extending disadvantaged families\u0026rsquo; teaching of emergent literacy. \u003cem\u003eResearch Papers in Education\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 35\u003c/em\u003e(3), 310-336. https://doi.org/10.1080/02671522.2019.1568531 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarrell, F. J. (2023). \u003cem\u003eHmisc: Harrell Miscellaneous. R package version 5.1-2\u003c/em\u003e.In https://hbiostat.org/R/Hmisc\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHarwell, M., Maeda, Y., Bishop, K., \u0026amp; Xie, A. (2017). The Surprisingly Modest Relationship Between SES and Educational Achievement. \u003cem\u003eThe Journal of Experimental Education\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 85\u003c/em\u003e(2), 197-214. https://doi.org/10.1080/00220973.2015.1123668 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHemmerechts, K., Agirdag, O., \u0026amp; Kavadias, D. (2017). The relationship between parental literacy involvement, socio-economic status and reading literacy. \u003cem\u003eEducational Review\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 69\u003c/em\u003e(1), 85-101. https://doi.org/10.1080/00131911.2016.1164667 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHinshaw, S. P. (1992). Externalizing behaviour problems and academic underachievement in childhood and adolescence: causal relationships and underlying mechanisms. \u003cem\u003ePsychol Bull\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 111\u003c/em\u003e(1), 127-155. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.111.1.127 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHoff, E. (2003). The Specificity of Environmental Influence: Socioeconomic Status Affects Early Vocabulary Development Via Maternal Speech. \u003cem\u003eChild Development\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 74\u003c/em\u003e(5), 1368-1378. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00612 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHoff, E. (2006). How social contexts support and shape language development. \u003cem\u003eDevelopmental Review\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 26\u003c/em\u003e(1), 55-88. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2005.11.002 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHollebeke, I. (2023). How stable is a family\u0026rsquo;s language policy? Multilingual families\u0026rsquo; beliefs, practices, and management across time. \u003cem\u003eLanguage Policy\u003c/em\u003e. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10993-023-09679-y \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eISTAT. (2011). \u003cem\u003eI redditi delle famiglie con stranieri\u003c/em\u003e. \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJoshi, H., Cooksey, E., Wiggins, R., McCulloch, A., Verropoulou, G., \u0026amp; Clarke, L. (1999). Diverse family living situations and child development: a multi-level analysis comparing longitudinal evidence from Britain and The United States. \u003cem\u003eInternational Journal of Law, Policy and the Family\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 13\u003c/em\u003e(3), 292-314. https://doi.org/10.1093/lawfam/13.3.292 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKim, S. w., Cho, H., \u0026amp; Kim, L. Y. (2019). Socioeconomic Status and Academic Outcomes in Developing Countries: A Meta-Analysis. \u003cem\u003eReview of Educational Research\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 89\u003c/em\u003e(6), 875-916. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654319877155 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKraus, M. W., Piff, P. K., Mendoza-Denton, R., Rheinschmidt, M. L., \u0026amp; Keltner, D. (2012). Social class, solipsism, and contextualism: how the rich are different from the poor. \u003cem\u003ePsychol Rev\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 119\u003c/em\u003e(3), 546-572. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028756 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eKuo, Y.-L., Casillas, A., Walton, K. E., Way, J. D., \u0026amp; Moore, J. L. (2020). The intersectionality of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status on social and emotional skills. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Research in Personality\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 84\u003c/em\u003e, 103905. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2019.103905 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLevine, D., Pace, A., Luo, R., Hirsh-Pasek, K., Michnick Golinkoff, R., de Villiers, J., Iglesias, A., \u0026amp; Sweig Wilson, M. (2020). Evaluating socioeconomic gaps in preschoolers\u0026rsquo; vocabulary, syntax and language process skills with the Quick Interactive Language Screener (QUILS). \u003cem\u003eEarly Childhood Research Quarterly\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 50\u003c/em\u003e, 114-128. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2018.11.006 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLiu, G., Zhao, Z., Li, B., Pan, Y., \u0026amp; Cheng, G. (2023). Parental psychological well-being and parental emotional warmth as mediators of the relationship between family socioeconomic status and children\u0026rsquo;s life satisfaction. \u003cem\u003eCurrent Psychology\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 42\u003c/em\u003e(27), 23958-23965. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-022-03568-z \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcLaughlin, K. A., Costello, E. J., Leblanc, W., Sampson, N. A., \u0026amp; Kessler, R. C. (2012). Socioeconomic Status and Adolescent Mental Disorders. \u003cem\u003eAmerican Journal of Public Health\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 102\u003c/em\u003e(9), 1742-1750. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2011.300477 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcNally, S., Darmody, M., \u0026amp; Quigley, J. (2019). The socio-emotional development of language-minority children entering primary school in Ireland. \u003cem\u003eIrish Educational Studies\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 38\u003c/em\u003e(4), 519-534. https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2019.1663550 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMeir, N., \u0026amp; Armon-Lotem, S. (2017). Independent and Combined Effects of Socioeconomic Status (SES) and Bilingualism on Children\u0026rsquo;s Vocabulary and Verbal Short-Term Memory [Original Research]. \u003cem\u003eFrontiers in Psychology\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 8\u003c/em\u003e. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01442 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eParadis, J. (2023). Sources of individual differences in the dual language development of heritage bilinguals. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Child Language\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 50\u003c/em\u003e(4), 793-817. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0305000922000708 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePetersen, I. T., Bates, J. E., D\u0026apos;Onofrio, B. M., Coyne, C. A., Lansford, J. E., Dodge, K. A., Pettit, G. S., \u0026amp; Van Hulle, C. A. (2013). Language ability predicts the development of behaviour problems in children. \u003cem\u003eJ Abnorm Psychol\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 122\u003c/em\u003e(2), 542-557. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0031963 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeverill, M., Dirks, M. A., Narvaja, T., Herts, K. L., Comer, J. S., \u0026amp; McLaughlin, K. A. (2021). Socioeconomic status and child psychopathology in the United States: A meta-analysis of population-based studies. \u003cem\u003eClinical Psychology Review\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 83\u003c/em\u003e, 101933. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2020.101933 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePoarch, G. J., \u0026amp; Krott, A. (2019). A Bilingual Advantage? An Appeal for a Change in Perspective and Recommendations for Future Research. \u003cem\u003eBehavioural Sciences\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 9\u003c/em\u003e(9), 95. https://www.mdpi.com/2076-328X/9/9/95 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eReiss, F. (2013). Socioeconomic inequalities and mental health problems in children and adolescents: A systematic review. \u003cem\u003eSocial Science \u0026amp; Medicine\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 90\u003c/em\u003e, 24-31. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2013.04.026 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRStudio, T. (2020). \u003cem\u003eRStudio: Integrated Development for R\u003c/em\u003e.In RStudio, PBC. http://www.rstudio.com/\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRunge, R. A., \u0026amp; Soellner, R. (2019). Measuring children\u0026rsquo;s emotional and behavioural problems: are SDQ parent reports from native and immigrant parents comparable? \u003cem\u003eChild and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 13\u003c/em\u003e(1), 46. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-019-0306-z \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSevin\u0026ccedil;, Y. (2022). Mindsets and family language pressure: language or anxiety transmission across generations? \u003cem\u003eJournal of Multilingual and Multicultural Development\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 43\u003c/em\u003e(9), 874-890. https://doi.org/10.1080/01434632.2022.2038614 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSingh, L., \u0026amp; Rajendra, S. J. (2024). Greater attention to socioeconomic status in developmental research can improve the external validity, generalizability, and replicability of developmental science. \u003cem\u003eDevelopmental Science\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e n/a\u003c/em\u003e(n/a), e13521. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.13521 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSirin, S. R. (2005). Socioeconomic Status and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analytic Review of Research. \u003cem\u003eReview of Educational Research\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 75\u003c/em\u003e(3), 417-453. https://doi.org/10.3102/00346543075003417 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eStrohschein, L. (2005). Household Income Histories and Child Mental Health Trajectories. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Health and Social Behaviour\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 46\u003c/em\u003e(4), 359-375. https://doi.org/10.1177/002214650504600404 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSun, H. (2019). Home Environment, Bilingual Preschooler\u0026rsquo;s Receptive Mother Tongue Language Outcomes, and Social-Emotional and Behavioural Skills: One Stone for Two Birds? [Original Research]. \u003cem\u003eFrontiers in Psychology\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 10\u003c/em\u003e. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01640 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSun, H., Yussof, N. T. B., Mohamed, M. B. B. H., Rahim, A. B., Bull, R., Cheung, M. W. L., \u0026amp; Cheong, S. A. (2021). Bilingual language experience and children\u0026apos;s social-emotional and behavioural skills: a cross-sectional study of Singapore preschoolers. \u003cem\u003eInternational Journal of Bilingual Education and Bilingualism\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 24\u003c/em\u003e(3), 324-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/13670050.2018.1461802 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSurrain, S., \u0026amp; Luk, G. (2019). Describing bilinguals: A systematic review of labels and descriptions used in the literature between 2005\u0026ndash;2015. \u003cem\u003eBilingualism: Language and Cognition\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 22\u003c/em\u003e(2), 401-415. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1366728917000682 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWestermann, G., Mareschal, D., Johnson, M. H., Sirois, S., Spratling, M. W., \u0026amp; Thomas, M. S. C. (2007). Neuroconstructivism. \u003cem\u003eDevelopmental Science\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 10\u003c/em\u003e(1), 75-83. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2007.00567.x \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWestrupp, E. M., Reilly, S., McKean, C., Law, J., Mensah, F., \u0026amp; Nicholson, J. M. (2020). Vocabulary Development and Trajectories of Behavioural and Emotional Difficulties Via Academic Ability and Peer Problems. \u003cem\u003eChild Development\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 91\u003c/em\u003e(2), e365-e382. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13219 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWinsler, A., Kim, Y. K., \u0026amp; Richard, E. R. (2014). Socio-emotional skills, behaviour problems, and Spanish competence predict the acquisition of English among English language learners in poverty. \u003cem\u003eDev Psychol\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 50\u003c/em\u003e(9), 2242-2254. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0037161 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYew, S. G. K., \u0026amp; O\u0026rsquo;Kearney, R. (2013). Emotional and behavioural outcomes later in childhood and adolescence for children with specific language impairments: meta-analyses of controlled prospective studies. \u003cem\u003eJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 54\u003c/em\u003e(5), 516-524. https://doi.org/https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12009 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eYoshikawa, H., Aber, J. L., \u0026amp; Beardslee, W. R. (2012). The effects of poverty on the mental, emotional, and behavioural health of children and youth: implications for prevention. \u003cem\u003eAm Psychol\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 67\u003c/em\u003e(4), 272-284. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028015 \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eZeileis, A., \u0026amp; Hothorn, T. (2002). Diagnostic Checking in Regression Relationships. \u003cem\u003eR News\u003c/em\u003e,\u003cem\u003e 2\u003c/em\u003e(3), 7-10. https://CRAN.R-project.org/doc/Rnews/.https://CRAN.R-project.org/package=lmtest \u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"child-and-adolescent-psychiatry-and-mental-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"caph","sideBox":"Learn more about [Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health](http://capmh.biomedcentral.com)","snPcode":"13034","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/13034/3","title":"Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health","twitterHandle":"@IACAPAP","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Language, socioeconomic status, heritage bilinguals, emotions, peer relationships, prosocial behaviour","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4593204/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-4593204/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBackground: \u003c/strong\u003eProximal and distal factors interact in shaping children’s development and well-being. The present study aimed to investigate socioeconomic status (SES), linguistic skills and language background as concurrent predictors of socio-emotional and behavioural skills in heritage bilinguals and monolingual peers attending preschool.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMethods: \u003c/strong\u003eParents of 1810 preschoolers (mean age = 63.42 months ± 7.36) filled in the Four Factor Index of SES and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Teachers (n =99) compiled a questionnaire on children’s linguistic skills as well as emotional and behavioural profiles. A subsample of 995 children was administered an expressive vocabulary task.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eResults: \u003c/strong\u003eRegression analyses showed that linguistic skills were the unique concurrent predictor for conduct problems as well as the dominant predictor for hyperactivity/impulsivity traits, problems in peer relationships and better prosocial behaviour. SES was negatively related to ADHD traits, problems in peer relationships, and prosocial behaviour. Finally, heritage bilingualism background was associated, although not as a primary predictor, with increased emotional problems, peer relationship problems and minor emotional and behavioural skills as assessed by teachers. However, it was the main factor to be positively associated with prosocial behaviour.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eConclusions: \u003c/strong\u003eThe implications of these results for the research in the field and for educational policies are discussed, highlighting the need for a multidimensional perspective that includes linguistic skills and SES in the evaluation of children’s emotional and behavioural outcomes.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Socioeconomic status, linguistic skills and language background differentially relate to preschoolers’ emotional and behavioural profile","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2024-07-04 10:08:24","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-4593204/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2024-07-22T18:54:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-07-21T14:13:18+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"90210292751726704936851492331772988312","date":"2024-07-08T08:16:35+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2024-07-04T18:05:19+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"52798945549264128214951003147740718969","date":"2024-07-04T14:44:15+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"207230870015234598077245350073861369339","date":"2024-07-02T08:44:56+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"72683875672292928357792200807160052863","date":"2024-07-02T03:09:28+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2024-07-02T02:13:47+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2024-06-24T06:22:57+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2024-06-19T04:35:08+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health","date":"2024-06-17T09:34:33+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"child-and-adolescent-psychiatry-and-mental-health","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"caph","sideBox":"Learn more about [Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health](http://capmh.biomedcentral.com)","snPcode":"13034","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/13034/3","title":"Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health","twitterHandle":"@IACAPAP","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"em","reportingPortfolio":"BMC/SO AJ","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"2647951d-ea65-4067-b646-09ee6d74d150","owner":[],"postedDate":"July 4th, 2024","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2024-10-21T16:03:27+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-4593204","link":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-024-00823-y","journal":{"identity":"child-and-adolescent-psychiatry-and-mental-health","isVorOnly":false,"title":"Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health"},"publishedOn":"2024-10-18 15:57:57","publishedOnDateReadable":"October 18th, 2024"},"versionCreatedAt":"2024-07-04 10:08:24","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1186/s13034-024-00823-y","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13034-024-00823-y","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-4593204","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-4593204","identity":"rs-4593204","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}