ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Human Developmental Psychology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1599801
Impact of pacifier use and parenting characteristics on toddlers' vocabulary development
Provisionally accepted
- 1Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Roma, Italy
- 2Department of Dynamic, Clinical Psychology and Health, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Lazio, Italy
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This study investigated the relationship between pacifier use and vocabulary development in a sample of 98 typically developing children aged 18-36 months. We hypothesized that pacifier use would correlate with a reduced vocabulary size and a specific underrepresentation of abstract words. Data were collected on pacifier use, feeding habits, parenting styles, parental satisfaction, and vocabulary, assessed using the MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventory. Contrary to our expectations, we found no significant association between pacifier use and overall vocabulary size or the acquisition of abstract words within this age range. However, we observed a correlation between pacifier use and feeding type, and also an unexpected association with a higher paternal sense of efficacy. Pacifier use was not linked to specific parenting styles. Our findings suggest that pacifier use within the 18-36 months age range does not negatively affect early vocabulary development.While these findings provide valuable insights, further research is needed to explore the complex factors influencing language development and the potential impact of pacifier use beyond the age of three.
Keywords: Child's first vocabulary, Pacifier use, Parental sense of competence, Parental educational style, Abstract Concepts
Received: 26 Mar 2025; Accepted: 07 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Barca, Mazzuca and Borghi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Laura Barca, Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies, National Research Council (CNR), Roma, Italy
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