Using a
meta-analytic approach, we evaluate the association between socioeconomic
status (SES) and children’s experiences measured with the Language
Environment Analysis (LENA) system. Our final analysis included 22
independent samples, representing data from 1583 children. A model
controlling for LENATM measures, age and publication type revealed an effect
size of rz= .186, indicating a small effect of SES on children’s language
experiences. The type of LENA metric measured emerged as a significant moderator,
indicating stronger effects for adult word counts than child vocalization
counts. These results provide important evidence for the strength of
association between SES and children’s everyday language experiences as
measured with an unobtrusive recording analyzed automatically in a
standardized fashion.
