A longitudinal investigation of the relationship between maternal mind‐mindedness and theory of mind

Abstract

Data are presented from a longitudinal investigation examining the relationship between maternal mind-mindedness (MM) in infancy and socio-cognitive development in childhood. We revisited children (n = 18) who had taken part in a longitudinal study as infants. MM had been assessed at 10, 12, 16, and 20 months of age. We followed up these children at 5-6 years of age to test their higher order theory of mind (ToM) (using the strange stories task). The convergent validity, temporal stability, and predictive validity of the construct of MM were examined in a longitudinal data set. The five measures of MM were not significantly correlated. Mother's production of appropriate mind-related comments (but no other measures) showed evidence of temporal stability throughout infancy. Thus, MM (as measured by appropriate mind-related comments) was confirmed as a stable construct. Children's ToM at 5-6 years of age was significantly predicted by their mother's MM up to 4 years earlier, with MM accounting for 40% of the variance of the strange stories task scores. These findings identify a relationship between MM across a protracted period of infancy and socio-cognitive development at 5-6 years of age.

Mothers’ and fathers’ mind‐mindedness influences physiological emotion regulation of infants across the first year of life

“…In line with prior research, appropriate mind‐related comments were stable over time in both mothers and fathers (e.g., Kirk et al., 2015). Non‐attuned comments were only stable for fathers.…”

Maternal Mentalization and Behavior Under Stressful Contexts: The Moderating Roles of Prematurity and Household Chaos

“…Maternal mentalization is considered an important precursor of various aspects of infants' cognitive and social development. Online maternal mentalization during infancy has been positively associated with children's language acquisition in toddlerhood (Laranjo & Bernier, ), executive functioning (Bernier, Carlson, Deschênes, & Matte‐Gagné, ), school readiness in preschool (Bernier et al., ), and theory of mind development (e.g., Devine & Hughes, ; Kirk et al., ; Meins et al., ). Furthermore, high prenatal (offline) as well as postnatal (online) maternal mentalization predicts lower levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors in toddlerhood (Meins, Centifanti, Fernyhough, & Fishburn, ; Smaling, Huijbregts, van der Heijden, van Goozen, & Swaab, ), suggesting that maternal mentalization can buffer against the development of conduct problems (e.g., Hughes, Aldercotte, & Foley, ).…”

Mind-mindedness in parents of looked-after children.

“…Previous research involving biological families has suggested that mindmindedness is relatively stable over time (Illingworth, MacLean, & Wiggs, 2016;Kirk et al, 2015;Meins, Fernyhough, Arnott, Leekam, & Turner, 2001;Meins et al, 2003;McMahon, Camberis, Berry, & Gibson, 2016). But this stability has been observed only within early childhood, and no study has investigated whether mind-mindedness changes in concert with fluctuations in the quality of the relationship.…”