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Dual Development of Conversational and Narrative Discourse: Mother and Child Interactions During Narrative Co-construction
- Merrill-Palmer Quarterly
- Wayne State University Press
- Volume 59, Number 4, October 2013
- pp. 426-460
- 10.1353/mpq.2013.0019
- Article
- Additional Information
We investigated longitudinally the co-constructed narratives of 31 mother-child dyads collected when the children were 3-, 4-, and 5-years old, examining the dual development of child conversational and narrative discourse skills and the impact of maternal verbal assistance. Linear mixed-model analysis revealed that children’s developmental trajectories toward successful responsiveness and contingency differed as a function of maternal scaffold type. Qualitative analyses revealed that children’s use of both narrative and conversational skills during narrative co-construction made it difficult for the dyad to participate in effective co-construction. We discuss the challenges children face when simultaneously employing their understanding of appropriate participation in conversation and their knowledge about what makes a narrative structurally coherent, as well as the strategies that mothers can use to assist their children in navigating the conversational demands of narrative co-construction.