(funded by the German Research Foundation [DFG])

Project lead: Dr. Wei Huang, Prof. Dr. Sabine Weinert
Project duration: 10/2026 – 11/2029

Background: Despite the steady growth of immigrant populations globally, early development in bi- and multilingual children who acquire two or more languages in their first three years remains understudied. Existing research on how bilingualism impacts executive functions (EF) and socioemotional development often yields mixed or conflicting results. These inconsistencies often stem from differing measurement tools rooted in different research traditions, key confounds such as family socioeconomic status (SES), and the inherent heterogeneity of bilingual exposure. To resolve these inconsistencies, this project conducts secondary data analyses using five national, large-scale, cross-continental longitudinal datasets. By examining diverse groups of simultaneous bilingual children, the project goal is to detangle how measurement approaches, family SES, and cultural contexts shape early self-regulatory and socioemotional development.

Key Objectives:

1. Evaluating how specific facets of family SES (e.g., parental education level, household income) moderate the link between bilingualism and EF across different national contexts

2. Investigating how differences in bilingual language exposure and cultural setting shape children’s socioemotional strengths and behavioral difficulties

3. Uncovering the patterns of association between EF components and socioemotional outcomes in bilingual subgroups relative to monolinguals

Methodology & Analytics: 
• Utilizing large-scale, national samples from countries with varied socioeconomic and cultural landscapes
• Applying quantitative approaches (e.g., structural equation modeling and multigroup analyses) to analyze diverse EF components alongside both performance-based tests and reported measures as well as various facets of socioemotional development

Datasets: German National Educational Panel Study – Starting Cohort 1(NEPS-SC1); the British Study of Early Education and Development (SEED); the Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies–Kindergarten 2011 (ECLS-K: 2011) from the United States; the Growing Up in New Zealand study (GUiNZ); the Singapore Longitudinal Early Development Study (SG LEADS)