The Relationship of Theory of Mind and Caregiver-Child Interaction in Children from Biological Families

PII

S3034588X26010073-1

DOI

10.7868/S3034588X26010073

Publication Type

Article

Status

Published

Authors

R.J. Muhamedrahimov

Occupation: ScD (psychology), Professor, Head of Division of Child and Parent Mental Health and Early Intervention
Affiliation: St. Petersburg State University

E.V. Shabalina

Occupation: PhD (psychology), Associate Professor
Affiliation: St. Petersburg State University

D.I. Chernego

Occupation: PhD (psychology), Researcher
Affiliation: St. Petersburg State University

Volume/ Edition

Volume 47 / Issue number 1

Pages

69-78

Abstract

The article is focused on the study of the relationship between children’s theory of mind and the characteristics of their interaction with the caregiver in family. Based on the ideas about young children developing at an early age in the “mother–child” system, it was assumed that there is a correlation between the indicator of the theory of mind and the characteristics of interaction on the side of the mother, the child, and in the dyad. The study participants were 31 children without medical and biological risk factors aged 12 to 50 months (M(SD) = 28.6(8.98) months) and their mothers (30.7(6.38), 20 to 45 years old) with above-average education level, living mostly with an only child in a full family with average and above-average income. To assess the theory of mind, items extracted from the personal-social scale section of the BDI method (“Battelle Developmental Inventory”) were used, and a 5-minute videotape of their interaction was analyzed using the PCERA method (“The Parent-Child Early Relational Assessment”) to study the mother-child interaction. The results indicate a significant positive relationship of the theory of mind indicator in children with the characteristics of interaction on the part of mothers (expression of pleasure toward child during interaction, social initiatives, absence of negative physical contact), on the part of children (self-organization/self-regulation, adaptive abilities, persistence in achieving the goal, ability to focus and sustain attention, absence of focusing on the mother`s emotional state) and in dyad (absence of tension and anxiety). The findings are discussed in terms of the forming of children’s understanding of mental states in the context of their primary socio-emotional environment.

Keywords

дети биологическая семья модель психического взаимодействие детей и близких взрослых

Date of publication

06.06.2026

Date of Year of publication

2026

Number of purchasers

Views

References

Reference

1. Лебедева Е.И., Виленская Г.А., Уланова А.Ю., Филиппу О.Ю., Павлова Н.С. Социальная компетентность у подростков с разным уровнем развития модели психического // Психологический журнал. 2023. Т. 44. № 1. С. 43–54.
2. Лебедева Е.И., Сергиенко Е.А. Развитие символических функций в дошкольном возрасте: роль модели психического и интеллекта // Психологический журнал. 2020. Т. 41. № 5. С. 49–62.
3. Мухамедрахимов Р.Ж. Мать и младенец: психологическое взаимодействие. СПб.: Изд-во С.-Петерб. ун-та, 1999.
4. Мухамедрахимов Р.Ж., Кагарманов Д.И., Сергиенко Е.А. анализ показателей модели психического у детей в биологических семьях и доме ребенка // Сибирский психологический журнал. 2022. № 85. С. 144–161. doi: 10.17223/17267080/85/7
5. Мухамедрахимов Р.Ж., Кагарманов Д.И., Сергиенко Е.А. анализ показателей модели психического у детей в домах ребенка с различным социально-эмоциональным окружением // Вестник Санкт-Петербургского университета. Психология. 2022. Т. 12. № 4. С. 398–409. https://doi.org/10.21638/spbu16.2022.401
6. Сергиенко Е.А., Уланова А.Ю., Лебедева Е.И. Модель психического: Структура и динамика. М.: Изд-во “Институт психологии РаН”, 2020. 503 с.
7. Ainsworth M.D.S., Blehar M., Waters E., Wall S. Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the Strange Situation. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum, 1978.
8. Beaudoin C., Leblanc E., Gagner C., Beauchamp M.H. Systematic Review and Inventory of Theory of Mind Measures for Young Children // Frontiers in Psychology. 2020. Vol. 10. Article 2905. doi: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02905
9. Cadinu M.R., Kiesner J. Children’s development of a theory of mind // European Journal of Psychology of Education. 2000. Vol. 15. P. 93–111. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03173169
10. Clark R. The parent-child early relational assessment: Instrument and manual // Madison: University of Wisconsin Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, 1985.
11. Devine R.T., Hughes C. Let’s talk: parents’ mental talk (not mind-mindedness or mindreading capacity) predicts children’s false belief understanding // Child Development. 2019. Vol. 90. No. 4. P. 1236–53.
12. Hughes C., Devine R. Family influences on theory of mind: a review // Theory of Mind Development in Context / Eds V. Slaughter, M. de Rosnay. London: Taylor & Francis, 2016. P. 41–56. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315749181
13. Isaksson J., Neufeld J., Bölte S. What’s the Link Between Theory of Mind and Other Cognitive Abilities – A Co-twin Control Design of Neurodevelopmental Disorders // Frontiers in Psychology. 2021. Vol. 12. Article 575100. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.575100
14. Jenkins J.M., Turrell S.L., Kogushi Y., Lollis S., Ross H.S. A longitudinal investigation of the dynamics of mental state talk in families // Child Development. 2003. Vol. 74. No. 3. P. 905–920.
15. Kirk E., Pine K., Wheatley L., Howlett N., Schulz J., Fletcher B. A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between maternal mind-mindedness and theory of mind // British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 2015. Vol. 33. No. 4. P. 434–445. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjdp.12104
16. Laranjo J., Bernier A., Meins E., Carlson S.M. The roles of maternal mind-mindedness and infant security of attachment in predicting preschoolers’ understanding of visual perspective taking and false belief // Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2014. Vol. 125. P. 48–62.
17. Licata M., Kristen S., Sodian B. Mother–Child Interaction as a Cradle of Theory of Mind: The Role of Maternal Emotional Availability // Social Development. 2016. Vol. 25. No. 1. P. 139–156. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12131
18. Luke N., Banerjee R. Differentiated associations between childhood maltreatment experiences and social understanding: A meta-analysis and systematic review // Developmental Review. 2013. Vol. 33. No. 1. P. 1–28.
19. Lundy B.L. Paternal and Maternal Mind-mindedness and Preschoolers’ Theory of Mind: The Mediating Role of Interactional Attunement // Social Development. 2013. Vol. 22. No. 1. P. 58–74. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12009
20. Newborg J., Stock J.R., Wnek L., Guidubaldi J., Svinicki J. Battelle Developmental Inventory. Allen, Tex: DLM, 1988.
21. Nonnenmacher N., Müller M., Taczkowski J., Zietlow A., Sodian B., Reck C. Theory of Mind in Pre-school Aged Children: Influence of Maternal Depression and Infants’ Self-Comforting Behavior // Frontiers in Psychology. 2021. Vol. 12. Article 741786. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.741786
22. Onishi K.H., Baillargeon R. Do 15-Month-Old Infants Understand False Beliefs? // Science. 2005. Vol. 308. No. 5719. P. 255–258. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1107621
23. Rutter M.L., Sonuga-Barke E.J., Castle J.I. Investigating the impact of early institutional deprivation on development: Background and research strategy of the English and Romanian Adoptees (ERA) study // Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development. 2010. Vol. 75. No. 1. P. 1–20.
24. Sehlstedt I., Hansson I., Hjelmquist E. The longitudinal relations between mental state talk and theory of mind // BMC Psychology. 2024. Vol. 12. Article 191. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40359-024-01692-y
25. Selcuk B., Yucel N.M. The role of institutionalization in theory of mind // Theory of Mind Development in Context / Eds. V. Slaughter, M. de Rosnay. NY: Routledge, 2017. P. 89–105.
26. Shamblaw A.L., Benson J.E., Harkness K.L., Sabbagh M.A. Maternal depression and children’s false belief understanding // Review of Social Development. 2019. Vol. 28. No. 4. P. 927–941. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12369
27. Stern D.N. The interpersonal world of the infant. A view from psychoanalysis and developmental psychology. USA: Basis Books, 1985.
28. Surian L., Caldi S., Sperber D. Attribution of Beliefs by 13-Month-Old Infants // Psychological Science. 2007. Vol. 18. No. 7. P. 580–586. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01943.x
29. Szpak M., Bialecka-Pickul M. Links between attachment and theory of mind in childhood: Meta-analytic review // Social Development. 2020. Vol. 29. No. 3. P. 653–673. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12432
30. Tahiroglu D., Moses L.J., Carlson S.M., Mahy C.E., Olofson E.L., Sabbagh M.A. The Children’s Social Understanding Scale: Construction and validation of a parent-report measure for assessing individual differences in children’s theories of mind // Developmental Psychology. 2014. Vol. 50. No. 11. P. 2485–2497.
31. Valdes V., Craighead L.W., Nelson C.A., Bosquet Enlow M. The Influence of Temperament, Theory of Mind, Inhibitory Control, and Prosocial Behavior on Child Anxiety Symptoms in the First Five Years of Life // Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01250-5