The Interplay Between Theory of Mind and Social Emotional Functioning in Adolescents With Communication and Language Problems

Smit, Lidy; Knoors, Harry; Hermans, Daan; Vissers, Constance

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01488

Cited by 14 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 48 publications

(74 reference statements)

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“…Accordingly, ToM has been associated with a wide range of social functioning outcomes, including peer-popularity ( Slaughter et al, 2015 ), social competence ( Razza, 2009 ), and being a bully or a bully-victim ( Shakoor et al, 2012 ). Alterations in ToM have foremost been observed among individuals with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), particularly autism spectrum disorder (ASD) ( Morgan et al, 2003 ; Callenmark et al, 2014 ; Baron-Cohen et al, 2015 ; Bölte et al, 2015 ; Atherton and Cross, 2018 ; Isaksson et al, 2019b ), and to a lesser degree in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) ( Baribeau et al, 2015 ; Mary et al, 2016 ) and communication and language disorders ( Smit et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What’s the Link Between Theory of Mind and Other Cognitive Abilities – A Co-twin Control Design of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

2021

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Theory of mind (ToM), or the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, is a core element of social cognition (SC). Even though its importance for social functioning in general, and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), in particular, is well established, the links between ToM and other cognitive functions are not. Especially the familial underpinnings of such links remain unclear. Using a co-twin control design, we examined N = 311 twins (mean age M = 17.19 years, 47% females) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), other NDDs, or typically developing individuals. We used the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test to operationalize ToM, the Fragmented Pictures Test for central coherence (CC), the Tower Test for executive functioning (EF), and the general ability index in the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for IQ. In the linear regressions, weak CC and a lower IQ were associated with a reduced ToM ability across pairs. Female sex and higher age were robustly associated with increased ToM ability, whereas EF was not associated with ToM. In the within-pair analyses, where unmeasured familial confounders are implicitly adjusted, the associations between ToM and other cognitive functions, were attenuated and the association with CC was non-significant. The result suggests that familial factors shared by the twins, such as genetic and shared environment, influence the association between CC, IQ, and ToM. Future studies need to include a larger sample of monozygotic twins, who are genetically identical, in order to draw more firm conclusions regarding the influence of familial factors, and to differentiate between shared environmental and genetic effects on the associations between cognitive functions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

What’s the Link Between Theory of Mind and Other Cognitive Abilities – A Co-twin Control Design of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

2021

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“…Although there are many studies that assess ToM in children, to the best of our knowledge, there is a relative lack of studies that address ToM in adolescents, especially in adolescents with language and communication problems ( Smit et al, 2019 ). One of the causes might be that ToM tasks suitable to assess ToM in children are not suitable for adolescents and adults due to ceiling effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Adolescents with DLDs and adolescents who are DHH are at greater risk of social emotional problems ( Smit et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In our opinion, there is a serious omission, because adolescence is a time of considerable development at the level of behavior, cognition, and the brain ( Blakemore and Choudhury, 2006 ). It is important to shed light on the interaction between these factors to develop intervention programs to tackle social and emotional problems as seen in adolescents with DLD and those who are DHH ( Smit et al, 2019 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There are few studies that focus on ToM functioning in adolescents with DLD or are DHH ( Smit et al, 2019 ). For typically developed adolescents, adolescence is a turbulent phase.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Measuring Theory of Mind in Adolescents With Language and Communication Problems: An Ecological Perspective

et al. 2022

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We tested if the newly designed ToMotion task reflects a single construct and if the atypical groups differ in their performance compared to typically developing peers. Furthermore, we were interested if ToMotion maps a developmental sequence in a Theory of Mind (ToM) performance as exemplified by increasing difficulty of the questions asked in every item. The sample consisted of 13 adolescents that have been diagnosed with a developmental language disorder (DLD) and 14 adolescents that are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH). All of these adolescents were in special schools for secondary vocational education. The control group existed of 34 typical developing adolescents (TD) who were in regular intermediate vocational education, ranging from level 2 to 4. The ToMotion, available in a spoken Dutch version and in a version in Sign Language of the Netherlands (SLN), was used to map ToM abilities. An attempt has been made to fill the gap of missing studies of ToM in adolescents by developing a new measuring instrument. In conclusion, assessing ToM with the ToMotion results in a picture that DHH adolescents score lower than TD peers. However, their scores are as consistent as those of the TD peers. The picture of DLD adolescents is the reverse. They show no differences in ToM scores, but seem to be somewhat more inconsistent compared to TD peers. We provide a discussion on those results and its implications for future research. What this paper adds? The current study introduces a new visual Theory of Mind (ToM) task, ToMotion, designed specifically to assess ToM in adolescents in an ecologically valid way and adapted to the needs of adolescents with language and communication difficulties.

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Social Cognition in Adolescents with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): Evidence from the Social Attribution Task

Forrest

Gibson

Clair

2022

J Autism Dev Disord

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Social cognition impairments may explain social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) in individuals with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD). In a novel approach, the Social Attribution Task (SAT) was used to examine this association. SAT narratives were coded from 53 participants [n = 26 DLD; n = 27 typical language development (TLD)] matched on age (Mage = 13;6) and gender (35.9% female). Parents reported SEBD. Adolescents with DLD performed worse than their TLD peers on the majority of SAT indices and had higher peer (d = 1.09) and emotional problems (d = .75). There was no association between social cognition abilities and SEBD. These exploratory findings suggest social cognition should be further examined in this population.

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The Interplay Between Theory of Mind and Social Emotional Functioning in Adolescents With Communication and Language Problems

Cited by 14 publications

References 48 publications

What’s the Link Between Theory of Mind and Other Cognitive Abilities – A Co-twin Control Design of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

What’s the Link Between Theory of Mind and Other Cognitive Abilities – A Co-twin Control Design of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Measuring Theory of Mind in Adolescents With Language and Communication Problems: An Ecological Perspective

Social Cognition in Adolescents with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD): Evidence from the Social Attribution Task

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