Competenza linguistica e profili temperamentali in bambini frequentanti l’asilo nido

The main purpose of the present study was to identify specific temperamental profiles associated to different levels of linguistic competence and to identify the profile associated with the highest risk for language acquisition. A sample of 118 children aged 28 months were evaluated by their day-care center teachers who compiled two questionnaires: Il Primo Vocabolario ful Bambino (Caselli, Casadìo, 1995) and Questionari ltaliani del Temperamento (Axia, 2002). Three groups of children with different temperamental profiles emerged: (1) a group with a typical profile of the Italian population; (2) a group made up of easily distractible and not very persistent children, who showed a poor capacity to modulate motor activity; (3) children showing inhibition in new situations and intense negative emotional reactions. Comparing the three groups on the basis of their level of linguistic competence significant differences emerged with reference to certain indices such as vocabulary size and composition: more specifically, the group of inattentive children exhibited a more immature, vocabulary characterized by the presence of more primitive components of the lexical repertory.