Relations among degree of bilingualism and bilateral information processing in children and adults

Aims and objectives:The primary goal of this study was to examine whether degree of bilingualism related to dichotic listening accuracy, a measure of bilateral processing, after controlling for age and income.Methodology:Participants included 59 children ages 6–11 years ( M = 7.86, SD = 1.81) and 61 adults (18–83 years) ( M = 34.02, SD = 15.70). Participants completed demographic surveys, vocabulary assessments in English and Spanish, and a dichotic listening test.Data and analysis:Multiple linear regressions examined whether the degree of bilingualism predicted bilateral processing.Findings:Degree of bilingualism predicted bilateral processing in the whole sample of children and adults.Originality:This study is one of the first to examine bilingualism and bilateral processing while including both children and adults. It also importantly controlled for a possible cognate facilitatory effect and participant income differences and measured bilingualism on a continuum.Significance:Results highlight the importance of including bilingual groups of different ages when researching bilingualism and laterality.