Preschool theory of mind: it’s relation with mother’s parental stress and reflective function

ABSTRACT

Theory of mind (ToM) allows people to understand their own and others’ behaviour, crediting it with intentions, desires and beliefs. In the case of parenting, maternal reflective function unfolds within child-caregiver interactions, and previous studies have pointed out this variable as necessary for positive care. In the present study we sought to understand how high levels of stress could interfere with their reflective function capacity, and how this relates to children’s ToM. A sample of 125 mothers and their preschool children (36–54 months) was assessed. It was hypothesized that the maternal reflective function would play a mediating role between the parental stress variable and the preschooler’s ToM. The study found that parental stress exerted direct and significant effects on the mother’s reflective function and direct but mild effects on the child’s ToM. In addition, different elements of parental stress would act differently on the mother’s reflective function.

KEYWORDS:

• ToM
• parental stress
• reflective function
• preschool
• mother

Acknowledgements

This paper was prepared with support from the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico, FONDECYT, N° 1130786, and Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo de Chile ANID, through the Millennium Institute for Research on Depression and Personality-MIDAP, Grant N° IS130005. The authors confirm that they have given due consideration to the protection of intellectual property associated with this work and that there are no impediments to publication, including the timing of publication, with respect to intellectual property. The authors further confirm that any aspect of the work covered in this manuscript that has involved either experimental animals or human patients has been conducted with the ethical approval of all relevant bodies and that such approvals are acknowledged within the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This paper was prepared with support from the Fondo Nacional de Desarrollo Científico y Tecnológico, FONDECYT [grant number 1130786], and Agencia Nacional de Investigación y Desarrollo de Chile (ANID) through the Millennium Institute for Research on Depression and Personality-MIDAP [grant number IS130005].

Notes on contributors

Ely Ann Cowes

Ely Ann Cowes is a Master in Clinical Psychology (UC), and Clinical Psychologist at Instituto Clínico Brostella (Panamá).

María Pía Santelices

María Pía Santelices is a Professor at the UC Department of Psychology. Santelices has PhD in Psychology and Clinical Psychopathology (Université Lumiere–Lyon2). Santelices is also a Clinical Psychologist and Director of the UC Early Childhood Program.