Work

Family Correlates of False Belief Understanding in Early Childhood: A Meta-Analysis

Year: 2016

Type: review

Study designs: Systematic Review, Meta-Analysis

Abstract: This meta-analysis seeks to integrate findings from 25 years of research on family correlates of young children's false belief understanding (FBU). Using data from 93 studies of 3- to 7-year-old children, we examined the correlations between FBU and four of the most widely studied family factors: parental socioeconomic status, number of siblings, parental mental-state talk, and mind-mindedness. FBU exhibited modest associations with each family variable and these associations held even when individual differences in verbal ability were taken into account. Moderator analyses revealed key child-related factors (e.g., age, gender) as well as methodological factors that amplified or attenuated the relations between FBU and each family variable. Crucially, available longitudinal data highlight the importance of family factors in the development of FBU.

Source: Child Development

DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12682

Authors: Rory T Devine, Claire Hughes

Institution: University of Cambridge

Language: English

Topic: Child and Animal Learning Development

Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funders: Isaac Newton Trust, Economic and Social Research Council

Awards: Bilateral (Hong Kong): Theory of mind development and use in children from Hong Kong and the UK - A latent variable study, G5234252842