Table 4 The moderating effect of age on the relationship between imitation and social communication for the combined dataset (n = 46)

Imitation (Pre-test)

2.54

0.02*

0.28

2.38

0.02*

0.27

2.53

0.02*

0.25

Imitation (Difference)

6.31

< 0.001**

0.70

5.99

< 0.001**

0.72

6.76

< 0.001**

0.71

Age (Months)

0.55

0.58

0.07

1.08

0.29

0.12

Imitation (Difference) * Age (Months)

3.76

0.001**

0.36

R²

0.49

0.50

0.63

Adjusted R²

0.47

0.46

0.59

F-value

F(2,43) = 20.933, p < 0.001

F(3,42) = 13.833, p < 0.001

F(4,41) = 17.146, p < 0.001

ΔR²

0.49

0.00

0.13

ΔF-value

F(2,43) = 20.933, p < 0.001

F(1,42) = 0.307, p < 0.001

F(1,41) = 14.121, p = 0.001