The relationship between theory of mind and social competence with peers in Chinese urban preschoolers: the effects of rater, age, and gender

ABSTRACT

This study aimed to examine the effects of rater, age and gender on the relationship between theory of mind (ToM) and preschoolers' social competence with peers (SCP). A sample of 152 Chinese urban children aged 4 to 6 years (78 boys and 74 girls) were given ToM scale. Their SCP was measured by teacher report and parent report. There were three main findings: (1) teachers rated children's SCP higher than parents; (2) teacher ratings of SCP were more closely associated with children's ToM than parent ratings after controlling for age and gender; (3) the significant associations between ToM and SCP from cross-informant ratings were only found in the boys and the younger subsamples (aged 4) rather than all preschoolers. These divergent associations indicated that the effective intervention, would require individual and varying ToM training to improve children's SCP.

KEYWORDS:

• Theory of mind
• social competence with peers
• cross-informant ratings
• Chinese preschoolers

Acknowledgements

The authors appreciate the contributions of our additional research team members: Xinxin Liu and Yu Zhou for their assistance with this research.

Disclosure statement

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

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the [National Social Science Fund of China] under Grant [number 18ZDA336].

Notes on contributors

Fang Li

Fang Li is currently a PhD candidate at the Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, China. Her research interests include education policy, teacher professional development, and early childhood education.

Yong Jiang

Yong Jiang is currently a professor in the Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, China. He received his PhD degree in early childhood education from Beijing Normal University, China. His research interests include teacher professional development, education policy, and early childhood education.

Beibei Zhang

Beibei Zhang, is a teacher in the Department of Preschool Education of College of Home Economics at Hebei Normal University. She obtained a doctorate from the East China Normal University. Her research interests center on education policy and teacher professional development.

Xingjian Zhu

Xingjian Zhu is an MD candidate at the Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, China. His research interests include education policy and early childhood education.

Tianyan Sha

Tianyan Sha is an MD candidate at the Faculty of Education, East China Normal University, China. Her research interests include education policy and teacher professional development.