The Finite Verb Morphology Composite: Values From a Community Sample

Purpose We investigated the finite verb morphology composite (FVMC), a measure associated with developmental language disorder (DLD), in a large community sample to provide evidence on its distribution, its association with other variables, and its sensitivity and specificity. Method We coded percent occurrence of FVMC morphemes in obligatory contexts in archival language samples from 676 six-year-olds conversing with an adult family member. Using multiple regression, we quantified the variance in FVMC scores accounted for by language sample characteristics (number of utterances and obligatory contexts) and child/family variables (performance IQ, family history, maternal education, and adult FVMC). We calculated sensitivity and specificity of low (< 85%) FVMC scores for predicting low (−1 SD) scores on measures of utterance length, receptive vocabulary, and nonword repetition. Results FVMC scores ranged from 33% to 100% (M = 93%). Number of obligatory contexts (R 2 = 3%), performance IQ (R 2 = 11%), and a...