Manuela Lavelli
Biographic Data
| ID | 135862 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Manuela Lavelli |
| GIVEN NAMES | Manuela |
| FAMILY NAME | Lavelli |
| SIGNATURE | LAVELLI M |
| AFFILIATIONS | University of Verona |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-8667-1088 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 16 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 72 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 16 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2002 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Lexical Trajectories in Toddlers from Low-Income Bilingual Immigrant and Monolingual Families in Italy
In the extant literature on the development of the SES-related vocabulary gap, effects of low-income status and immigrant background often overlap. This study compared vocabulary trajectories in Italian (societal language) with normative data and investigated environmental factors related to vocabulary development in 83 toddlers (49% girls) from equivalent lowincome monolingual (28) and bilingual immigrant (55) families, from 18 to 36 months. Chi…
Short-Term Effects of an Outdoor Activities Intervention on Children’s Stress, Socio emotional, Behavioral, and Cognitive Regulation Skills
Research Findings: In recent years, interest has grown in the potential benefits of outdoor activities (OA) for children’s development, particularly in promoting socioemotional, behavioral, and cognitive regulation skills and reducing stress. However, empirical evidence on the effects of OA programs for children in the first three years of life on these outcomes still needs to be provided. To address this gap, our study involved 95 infants and to…
Linguistic interactions at nursery school and language acquisition of toddlers from low-income bilingual immigrant families and monolingual families
Toddlers from low-income and language-minority immigrant families are at risk for language difficulties due to early disparities in the quality of their home language environment. The present longitudinal study extends previous research by investigating nursery teachers’ communicative modalities and functions, and their relations with the conversational responsiveness and vocabulary of 42 (50% F) equivalent low-income monolingual and bilingual to…
Digital reading in beginner readers
Vocabulary production in toddlers from low-income immigrant families
The relationship between first and second language in early vocabulary acquisition in bilingual children is still debated in the literature. This study compared the expressive vocabulary of 39 equivalently low-SES two-year-old bilingual children from immigrant families with different heritage languages (Romanian vs. Nigerian English) and the same majority language (Italian). Vocabulary size, vocabulary composition and translation equivalents (TEs…
Bidirectional language influence in mother–child interaction and its effects on the communicative development of children with cochlear implants
The present study aimed to investigate the communicative characteristics of children with cochlear implants (CIs) and their mothers in interaction, whether and how they differ from those of mother–child dyads with normal hearing, and whether mother and child influence each other over the first year after implantation. Eighteen Italian-speaking children with CIs were assessed longitudinally across four time points, from before implantation (ages: …
Preterm infant contingent communication in the neonatal intensive care unit with mothers versus fathers
Very few studies have assessed infant capacity for bidirectional, contingent communication at birth, and to our knowledge there are none with preterm infants in the neonatal period. Presence versus absence of such interactive contingency makes a difference for our theories of development. We examined whether preterm infants can contingently coordinate behaviors with mothers and fathers in spontaneous communication in the Neonatal Intensive Care U…
Home Language Activities and Expressive Vocabulary of Toddlers from Low-SES Monolingual Families and Bilingual Immigrant Families
Children from low-SES (socioeconomic status) and minority language immigrant families are at risk of vocabulary difficulties due to the less varied and complex language in the home environment. Children are less likely to be involved in home language activities (HLA) in interaction with adults in low-SES than in higher-SES families. However, few studies have investigated the HLA variability among low-SES, minority language bilingual immigrant fam…
Vocal production and novel word learning in the first year
Previous studies have demonstrated an effect of early vocal production on infants’ speech processing and later vocabulary. This study focuses on the relationship between vocal production and new word learning. Thirty monolingual Italian-learning infants were recorded at about 11 months, to establish the extent of their consonant production. In parallel, the infants were trained on novel word–object pairs, two consisting of early learned consonant…
Culture-specific development of early mother–infant emotional co-regulation
Studies conducted in Western countries document the special role of mother-infant face-to-face exchanges for early emotional development including social smiling. A few cross-cultural studies have shown that the Western pattern of face-to-face communication is absent in traditional rural cultures, without identifying other processes that promote emotional Co-regulation. The present study compared three different samples: Western middle-class fami…
Socialization Goals of Immigrant Mothers from Diverse Cultures and of Their Children's Preschool Teachers in Italy
This study investigated and compared the socialization goals and values of first-generation immigrant mothers in Italy and of their children's preschool teachers. Seventy-eight mothers of four major migrant groups-Romanian, Moroccan, Nigerian, and Sri Lankan-and 21 Italian teachers were interviewed about the most important things they want their children to learn or achieve in their life. A thematic content analysis of the interviews yielded nine…
Gesture and speech during shared book reading with preschoolers with specific language impairment
This study examined (a) the relationship between gesture and speech produced by children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers, during shared book-reading, and (b) the potential effectiveness of gestures accompanying maternal speech on the conversational responsiveness of children. Fifteen preschoolers with expressive SLI were compared with fifteen age-matched and fifteen language-matche…
Interdyad differences in early mother–infant face-to-face communication
A microgenetic research design with a multiple case study method and a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses was used to investigate interdyad differences in real-time dynamics and developmental change processes in mother-infant face-to-face communication over the first 3 months of life. Weekly observations of 24 mother-infant dyads with analyses performed dyad by dyad showed that most dyads go through 2 qualitatively different dev…
Parenting Infants
This study was aimed at contributing to the understanding of cultural parenting strategies in a context of immigration. Socialization goals (SGs) and parenting behaviors during interaction with 3-month-old infants of first-generation West African immigrant mothers in Italy and autochthonous Italian mothers were compared. The relation between SGs and maternal behaviors within the two groups was also examined. As expected, results showed that West …
Developmental Changes in the Relationship Between the Infant's Attention and Emotion During Early Face-to-Face Communication
Weekly observations documented developmental changes in mother-infant face-to-face communication between birth and 3 months. Developmental trajectories for each dyad of the duration of infant facial expressions showed a change from the dominance of Simple Attention (without other emotion expressions) to active and emotionally positive forms of attention to the mother toward the end of the 2nd month. The results support an overlapping waves model,…
Developmental changes in mother-infant face-to-face communication
This study documented the growth of the earliest form of face-to-face communication in 16 mother-infant dyads, videotaped weekly during a naturalistic face-to-face interaction, between 1 and 14 weeks, in 2 conditions: with the infant in the mother's arms and with the infant semi-reclined on a sofa. Results showed a curvilinear development of early face-to-face communication, with a significant increase occurring between Week 4 and Week 9 dependin…
Developmental changes in mother-infant face-to-face communication
This study documented the growth of the earliest form of face-to-face communication in 16 mother-infant dyads, videotaped weekly during a naturalistic face-to-face interaction, between 1 and 14 weeks, in 2 conditions: with the infant in the mother's arms and with the infant semi-reclined on a sofa. Results showed a curvilinear development of early face-to-face communication, with a significant increase occurring between Week 4 and Week 9 dependin…
Developmental Changes in the Relationship Between the Infant's Attention and Emotion During Early Face-to-Face Communication
Weekly observations documented developmental changes in mother-infant face-to-face communication between birth and 3 months. Developmental trajectories for each dyad of the duration of infant facial expressions showed a change from the dominance of Simple Attention (without other emotion expressions) to active and emotionally positive forms of attention to the mother toward the end of the 2nd month. The results support an overlapping waves model,…
Culture-specific development of early mother–infant emotional co-regulation
Studies conducted in Western countries document the special role of mother-infant face-to-face exchanges for early emotional development including social smiling. A few cross-cultural studies have shown that the Western pattern of face-to-face communication is absent in traditional rural cultures, without identifying other processes that promote emotional Co-regulation. The present study compared three different samples: Western middle-class fami…
Interdyad differences in early mother–infant face-to-face communication
A microgenetic research design with a multiple case study method and a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses was used to investigate interdyad differences in real-time dynamics and developmental change processes in mother-infant face-to-face communication over the first 3 months of life. Weekly observations of 24 mother-infant dyads with analyses performed dyad by dyad showed that most dyads go through 2 qualitatively different dev…
Parenting Infants
This study was aimed at contributing to the understanding of cultural parenting strategies in a context of immigration. Socialization goals (SGs) and parenting behaviors during interaction with 3-month-old infants of first-generation West African immigrant mothers in Italy and autochthonous Italian mothers were compared. The relation between SGs and maternal behaviors within the two groups was also examined. As expected, results showed that West …
Preterm infant contingent communication in the neonatal intensive care unit with mothers versus fathers
Very few studies have assessed infant capacity for bidirectional, contingent communication at birth, and to our knowledge there are none with preterm infants in the neonatal period. Presence versus absence of such interactive contingency makes a difference for our theories of development. We examined whether preterm infants can contingently coordinate behaviors with mothers and fathers in spontaneous communication in the Neonatal Intensive Care U…
Developmental changes in mother-infant face-to-face communication
This study documented the growth of the earliest form of face-to-face communication in 16 mother-infant dyads, videotaped weekly during a naturalistic face-to-face interaction, between 1 and 14 weeks, in 2 conditions: with the infant in the mother's arms and with the infant semi-reclined on a sofa. Results showed a curvilinear development of early face-to-face communication, with a significant increase occurring between Week 4 and Week 9 dependin…
Developmental Changes in the Relationship Between the Infant's Attention and Emotion During Early Face-to-Face Communication
Weekly observations documented developmental changes in mother-infant face-to-face communication between birth and 3 months. Developmental trajectories for each dyad of the duration of infant facial expressions showed a change from the dominance of Simple Attention (without other emotion expressions) to active and emotionally positive forms of attention to the mother toward the end of the 2nd month. The results support an overlapping waves model,…
Interdyad differences in early mother–infant face-to-face communication
A microgenetic research design with a multiple case study method and a combination of quantitative and qualitative analyses was used to investigate interdyad differences in real-time dynamics and developmental change processes in mother-infant face-to-face communication over the first 3 months of life. Weekly observations of 24 mother-infant dyads with analyses performed dyad by dyad showed that most dyads go through 2 qualitatively different dev…
Parenting Infants
This study was aimed at contributing to the understanding of cultural parenting strategies in a context of immigration. Socialization goals (SGs) and parenting behaviors during interaction with 3-month-old infants of first-generation West African immigrant mothers in Italy and autochthonous Italian mothers were compared. The relation between SGs and maternal behaviors within the two groups was also examined. As expected, results showed that West …
Gesture and speech during shared book reading with preschoolers with specific language impairment
This study examined (a) the relationship between gesture and speech produced by children with specific language impairment (SLI) and typically developing (TD) children, and their mothers, during shared book-reading, and (b) the potential effectiveness of gestures accompanying maternal speech on the conversational responsiveness of children. Fifteen preschoolers with expressive SLI were compared with fifteen age-matched and fifteen language-matche…
Socialization Goals of Immigrant Mothers from Diverse Cultures and of Their Children's Preschool Teachers in Italy
This study investigated and compared the socialization goals and values of first-generation immigrant mothers in Italy and of their children's preschool teachers. Seventy-eight mothers of four major migrant groups-Romanian, Moroccan, Nigerian, and Sri Lankan-and 21 Italian teachers were interviewed about the most important things they want their children to learn or achieve in their life. A thematic content analysis of the interviews yielded nine…
Vocal production and novel word learning in the first year
Previous studies have demonstrated an effect of early vocal production on infants’ speech processing and later vocabulary. This study focuses on the relationship between vocal production and new word learning. Thirty monolingual Italian-learning infants were recorded at about 11 months, to establish the extent of their consonant production. In parallel, the infants were trained on novel word–object pairs, two consisting of early learned consonant…
Culture-specific development of early mother–infant emotional co-regulation
Studies conducted in Western countries document the special role of mother-infant face-to-face exchanges for early emotional development including social smiling. A few cross-cultural studies have shown that the Western pattern of face-to-face communication is absent in traditional rural cultures, without identifying other processes that promote emotional Co-regulation. The present study compared three different samples: Western middle-class fami…
Home Language Activities and Expressive Vocabulary of Toddlers from Low-SES Monolingual Families and Bilingual Immigrant Families
Children from low-SES (socioeconomic status) and minority language immigrant families are at risk of vocabulary difficulties due to the less varied and complex language in the home environment. Children are less likely to be involved in home language activities (HLA) in interaction with adults in low-SES than in higher-SES families. However, few studies have investigated the HLA variability among low-SES, minority language bilingual immigrant fam…
Vocabulary production in toddlers from low-income immigrant families
The relationship between first and second language in early vocabulary acquisition in bilingual children is still debated in the literature. This study compared the expressive vocabulary of 39 equivalently low-SES two-year-old bilingual children from immigrant families with different heritage languages (Romanian vs. Nigerian English) and the same majority language (Italian). Vocabulary size, vocabulary composition and translation equivalents (TEs…
Bidirectional language influence in mother–child interaction and its effects on the communicative development of children with cochlear implants
The present study aimed to investigate the communicative characteristics of children with cochlear implants (CIs) and their mothers in interaction, whether and how they differ from those of mother–child dyads with normal hearing, and whether mother and child influence each other over the first year after implantation. Eighteen Italian-speaking children with CIs were assessed longitudinally across four time points, from before implantation (ages: …
Preterm infant contingent communication in the neonatal intensive care unit with mothers versus fathers
Very few studies have assessed infant capacity for bidirectional, contingent communication at birth, and to our knowledge there are none with preterm infants in the neonatal period. Presence versus absence of such interactive contingency makes a difference for our theories of development. We examined whether preterm infants can contingently coordinate behaviors with mothers and fathers in spontaneous communication in the Neonatal Intensive Care U…
Digital reading in beginner readers
Linguistic interactions at nursery school and language acquisition of toddlers from low-income bilingual immigrant families and monolingual families
Toddlers from low-income and language-minority immigrant families are at risk for language difficulties due to early disparities in the quality of their home language environment. The present longitudinal study extends previous research by investigating nursery teachers’ communicative modalities and functions, and their relations with the conversational responsiveness and vocabulary of 42 (50% F) equivalent low-income monolingual and bilingual to…
Short-Term Effects of an Outdoor Activities Intervention on Children’s Stress, Socio emotional, Behavioral, and Cognitive Regulation Skills
Research Findings: In recent years, interest has grown in the potential benefits of outdoor activities (OA) for children’s development, particularly in promoting socioemotional, behavioral, and cognitive regulation skills and reducing stress. However, empirical evidence on the effects of OA programs for children in the first three years of life on these outcomes still needs to be provided. To address this gap, our study involved 95 infants and to…
Lexical Trajectories in Toddlers from Low-Income Bilingual Immigrant and Monolingual Families in Italy
In the extant literature on the development of the SES-related vocabulary gap, effects of low-income status and immigrant background often overlap. This study compared vocabulary trajectories in Italian (societal language) with normative data and investigated environmental factors related to vocabulary development in 83 toddlers (49% girls) from equivalent lowincome monolingual (28) and bilingual immigrant (55) families, from 18 to 36 months. Chi…
Psychology (14 works) · Developmental psychology (13 works) · Language Development and Disorders (8 works) · Immigration (6 works) · Language development (6 works) · Linguistics (5 works) · Vocabulary (5 works) · Vocabulary development (5 works) · Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development (4 works) · Child and Animal Learning Development (4 works)