Children's Mental State Research Articles

Reading Minds: The Relation Between Children’s Mental State Knowledge and Their Metaknowledge About Reading

The relation between children's mental state knowledge and metaknowledge about reading was examined in 2 studies. In Study 1, 196 children (mean age = 9 years) were tested for verbal ability (VA), metaknowledge about reading, and mental state words in a story task. In Study 2, the results of Study 1 were extended by using a cross-lagged design and by investigating older children (N = 71, mean ages = 10 years at Time 1 and 11 years at Time 2) for mental state knowledge, metaknowledge about reading, and VA. Results showed a significant relation between early cognitive (but not emotion) mental state knowledge and later metaknowledge about reading, controlling for VA. Results suggest close links between different aspects of children's knowledge about the mind.

Factors Influencing Children's Mental Health State.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the factors that influence children's mental health state. METHODS: The subjects were 127 boys and 132 girls in the 5th and 6th grades of elementary school. Data were collected through Child Problem-Behavior Screening Questionnaire, Parental Behavior Rating Scale, Conflict Tactics Scales, Self-Esteem Scales, and Index of Peer Relations. Subjects were divided into the risk group and normal group of the mental health state by the scores of CPSQ and were analyzed by chi2 test, t-test, and logistic regression using SPSS/WIN 14.0. RESULTS: The risk group was 70.3% and normal group was 29.7% of the subjects. Self-esteem, peer relationship, and academic achievement were important factors influencing children's mental health state. CONCLUSION: Results of this study suggest interventions to improve self-esteem, peer relationship, and academic achievement for promoting children's mental health state.

Stepping Stones to Others’ Minds: Maternal Talk Relates to Child Mental State Language and Emotion Understanding at 15, 24, and 33 Months

This continuation of a previous study (Taumoepeau & Ruffman, 2006) examined the longitudinal relation between maternal mental state talk to 15- and 24-month-olds and their later mental state language and emotion understanding (N= 74). The previous study found that maternal talk about the child's desires to 15-month-old children uniquely predicted children's mental state language and emotion task performance at 24 months. In the present study, at 24 months of age, mothers' reference to others' thoughts and knowledge was the most consistent predictor of children's later mental state language at 33 months. Vygotsky's zone of proximal development provides a framework within which maternal talk, first, about the child's desires and then about others' thoughts and knowledge scaffolds children's social understanding.

Maternal Mental State Language and Preschool Children's Attachment Security: Relation to Children's Mental State Language and Expressions of Emotional Understanding

AbstractMothers’ mental state language in conversation with their preschool children, and children's preschool attachment security were examined for their effects on children's mental state language and expressions of emotional understanding in their conversation. Children discussed an emotionally salient event with their mothers and then relayed the event to a stranger. Compared to mothers of insecurely attached children, mothers of securely attached children used more mental state language and had children who used more mental state language with both mother and stranger, and who expressed more emotional understanding in the mother–child conversation. Maternal mental state language and attachment security made shared contributions to children's mental state language with their mothers. Maternal mental state language accounted for the effects of attachment security on children's expressions of emotional understanding in the mother–child conversation. Mothers’ mental state language to their children may enhance secure attachment and foster children's understanding of mental states in self and others.

A prospective study of childhood psychopathology: independent predictors of change over three years

Whilst the correlates of child mental health problems are well understood, less is known about factors that operate to maintain healthy or unhealthy functioning, or that contribute to change in functioning. A range of factors may be of interest here, including relatively stable characteristics of children or their environment, that may have long-lasting and enduring consequences for their mental health, along with events that prompt changes in a child's mental state. Children were followed up 3 years after the original survey for a sub-sample of the 1999 British Child and Adolescent Mental Health Survey (N = 2,587 children). Latent mental health ratings drew on data provided by parent, teacher, and youth versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire at baseline, and at follow-up. A residual scores method was used to assess change in functioning over time. Latent mental health scores showed strong stability over time (r = 0.71) indicating the need for effective intervention with children who have impairing psychopathology, since they are unlikely to get better spontaneously. A poorer outcome was associated with: externalizing as opposed to emotional symptoms, reading difficulties; living in a single-parent or reconstituted family at baseline; and after exposure between Time 1 and Time 2 to parental separation, parental mental illness, child illness, and loss of a close friendship. All these factors could be targeted in public health or clinical interventions, particularly as predictors of change in child mental health were closely comparable across the range of initial SDQ scores, suggesting that they operated in a similar manner regardless of the initial level of (mal)adjustment.

Screening of depressive tendency in children by evaluating facial expression cognition

AbstractThese days suicides are being committed by students at all three levels of schooling. This serious problem is one that we should respond to as quickly as possible. Pediatric depression is a potential source of this problem. Previously, we have reported a simple diagnosis of the depressed state using facial expression cognition in the case of adults. There we implemented a self‐diagnostic inspection that can be carried out easily in a short time for the screening of depression. In this report, we examine whether the method we developed for adults may be applied to children as a fast and effective response to the big problem of pediatric depression. Through this examination, we hope that we can respond quickly to the problem of suicides by students in schools at all three levels caused by depression. Moreover, we can respond to a situation in which the school and parents do not understand the children's mental state that contributes heavily to these acts. From this response, we can evolve a better support system. Furthermore, we examine an application that uses a hand phone to improve the early stages of detection and evolve a support system through the increased number of users. Copyright © 2007 Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

A microgenetic investigation of stability and continuity in theory of mind development

The processes behind the transition from consistently failing tests of false belief understanding to consistently passing the tests was investigated by tracking changes in children's mental state understanding. Participants were 42 children (aged 3;1 to 4;3). There were two conditions; an experimental condition in which children were tested on a battery of eight theory of mind tests every four weeks for six phases of testing, and a control condition in which children only completed the battery of tests at the first and last testing phases. The profiles of performance showed that an understanding of false beliefs develops gradually and the development is relatively stable. An examination of the types of explanation children give on tests of false belief understanding showed that initially they rely on reality, then they progress through a period of confusion, where they do not provide an explanation, to a final stage in which they are able to explain behaviour by referring to an individual's false belief. Further analyses examined practice effects, construct validity, and the role of verbal ability on the development of mental state understanding.

Mother's Depression Affects Child's Mental State

Mother's Depression Affects Child's Mental State

Telling the story of theory of mind: Deaf and hearing children's narratives and mental state understanding

Theory of mind (ToM) was examined in late‐signing deaf children in two studies by using standard tests and measures of spontaneous talk about inner states of perception, affect and cognition during storytelling. In Study 1, there were 21 deaf children aged 6 to 11 years and 13 typical‐hearing children matched with the deaf by chronological age. In Study 2, there were 17 deaf children aged 6 to 12 years and 17 typical‐hearing preschoolers aged 4 to 5 years who were matched with the deaf by ToM test performance. In addition to replicating the consistently reported finding of poor performance on standard false belief tests by late‐signing deaf children, significant correlations emerged in both studies between deaf children's ToM test scores and their spontaneous narrative talk about imaginative cognition (e.g. ‘pretend’). In Study 2, with a new set of purpose‐built pictures that evoked richer and more complex mentalistic narration than the published picture book of Study 1, results of multiple regression analyses showed that children's narrative talk about imaginative cognition was uniquely important, over and above hearing status and talking of other kinds of mental states, in predicting ToM scores. The same was true of children's elaborated narrative talk using utterances that either spelt out thoughts, explained inner states or introduced contrastives. In addition, results of a Guttman scalogram analysis in Study 2 suggested a consistent sequence in narrative and standard test performance by deaf and hearing children that went from (1) narrative mention of visible (affective or perceptual) mental states only, along with FB failure, to (2) narrative mention of cognitive states along with (1), to (3) elaborated narrative talk about inner states along with (2), and finally to (4) simple and elaborated narrative talk about affective/perceptual and cognitive states along with FB test success. Possible explanations for this performance ordering, as well as for the observed correlations in both studies between ToM test scores and narrative variables, were considered.

Mother and Infant Talk About Mental States Relates to Desire Language and Emotion Understanding

This study assessed the relation between mother mental state language and child desire language and emotion understanding in 15-24-month-olds. At both time points, mothers described pictures to their infants and mother talk was coded for mental and nonmental state language. Children were administered 2 emotion understanding tasks and their mental and nonmental state vocabulary levels were obtained via parental report. The results demonstrated that mother use of desire language with 15-month-old children uniquely predicted a child's later mental state language and emotion task performance, even after accounting for potentially confounding variables. In addition, mothers' tendency to refer to the child's over others' desires was the more consistent correlate of mental state language and emotion understanding.

Maternal reflective functioning, attachment, and the transmission gap: A preliminary study

The notion that maternal reflective functioning, namely the mother's capacity to hold her baby and his mental states in mind, plays a vital role in the intergenerational transmission of attachment is investigated (Fonagy, Gergely, Jurist, & Target, 2002; Fonagy et al., 1995; Slade, this volume). A parent's capacity to understand the nature and function of her own as well as her child's mental states, thus allowing her to create both a physical and psychological experience of comfort and safety for her child, is proposed. In this study of 40 mothers and their babies, maternal reflective functioning is measured using the Parent Development Interview (PDI; Aber, Slade, Berger, Bresgi, & Kaplan, 1985), and scored for reflective functioning using an addendum to Fonagy, Target, Steele, & Steele's (1998) reflective functioning scoring manual (Slade, Bernbach, Grienenberger, Levy, & Locker, 2004). The relations between maternal reflective functioning and both adult (measured in pregnancy) and infant attachment (measured at 14 months) are examined. The findings indicate that relations between adult attachment and parental reflective functioning are significant, as are relations between parental reflective functioning and infant attachment. A preliminary mediation analysis suggests that parental reflective functioning plays a crucial role in the intergenerational transmission of attachment.

Parental reflective functioning: An introduction

Reflective functioning refers to the essential human capacity to understand behavior in light of underlying mental states and intentions. The construct, introduced by Fonagy, Steele, Steele, Moran, and Higgitt in 1991, and elaborated by Fonagy and his colleagues over the course of the next decade, has had an enormous impact on developmental theory and clinical practice. This paper introduces the construct of parental reflective functioning, which refers to the parent's capacity to hold the child's mental states in mind, and begins with a review of Fonagy and his colleagues' essential ideas regarding the reflective function. Next, the applicability of this construct to parental representations of the child and the parent – child relationship is considered. A system for coding parental reflective functioning, which will serve as the organizing framework for this special issue, is described. Finally, the three papers that make up this special section are introduced.

Theory of mind and mental state discourse during book reading and story‐telling tasks

This article presents three studies conducted in Canada and Australia that relate theory of mind (ToM) development to mental state discourse. In Study 1, mental state discourse was examined while parents and their 5–7‐year‐old children jointly read a storybook which had a surprise ending about the identity of the main character. Comments specific to the mental states of the story characters and discourse after the book had ended were positively related to children's ToM, and this was due to parent elaborations. Studies 2 and 3 examined children's mental state discourse during story‐telling tasks, and in both, mental state discourse of children during narrative was concurrently related to ToM performance. While research has shown that mental state discourse of parents is related to children's ToM acquisition, the current research indicates that children's spontaneous use of mental state language examined outside of the interactional context is also a strong correlate.

Latency and the Capacity to Reflect on Mental States

The development of the capacity to reflect on mental states has its origins in the mother's function of accepting the infant's projections of unbearable states of mind and re-presenting them in a more tolerable form. During the oedipal period, the continued availability of a parent who can take in the child's mental states and represent them from a different perspective results in the emergence within the child of a reflective mode of mental functioning. This mental capacity allows the child entering latency to begin to be able to recognize that her experience is but one perspective among many. Reflection on mental states takes place within an intermediate area of experience that belongs neither to the inner world nor to external reality, but partakes of both. In latency, the capacity to reflect on mental states remains a vulnerable capacity that is dependent on the reflective function of a parent at times of crisis. When a parent who can contain and transform the child's experience is not available, the child's potential space for reflection can collapse, leaving the child unable to differentiate inner from outer reality. The mother's relationship to a loved object other than the child is necessary for her continuing ability to support the child's reflective function. The child's awareness of a parental relationship from which she is excluded is also essential to the child's internalization of the capacity to reflect on mental states because it creates a vantage point from which the child can imagine herself being observed from the outside. These points are illustrated with material from a first psychotherapy session with a latency age boy.

Bridging the gap between theory of mind and moral reasoning.

The author argues that the gap between theory of mind and moral reasoning research may be more apparent than real. The wider gap is between sociomoral cognitions and real-world behavior. She calls for research on the relation of children's mental state and moral understanding to their sociomoral behavior.

Stereotyped beliefs about desirability: implications for characterizing the child's theory of mind

A central research issue in the child's theory of mind literature is the question of whether children appreciate the subjectivity of mental phenomena. The typical research paradigm involves researchers creating a discrepancy between children's own mental states and the mental state of a protagonist, and then asking children to predict the protagonist's reaction. A prediction that fits the child's own mental state (rather than the beliefs and desires of the protagonist) is seen as an indication that the child fails to acknowledge the subjectivity of mental phenomena. Here we present two experiments involving the use of desire statements in predicting other people's emotions which demonstrate that even when one does acknowledge the subjectivity of mental states, this does not necessarily leads to ‘correct’ predictions (e.g. predictions based on the protagonist's desires). Other factors, such as cultural knowledge, might influence this process. The first experiment demonstrates that even adults, with a fully operational theory of mind, sometimes choose to disregard information about other people's desires. Their own generalized beliefs about desirability appear to be instrumental in this respect. The second experiment, on sex-stereotyped preferences for toys, demonstrates that even young children already can use generalized beliefs about desirability as a basis for their predictions of others’ emotions, even when these beliefs on desirability do not coincide with their own desires. This strategy results in a response pattern that can be easily misconceived as an indication that the child does not yet appreciate the subjectivity of desires. Two remarks are made on the basis of these experiments. First, even a so-called ‘adult’ theory of mind tends to be affected by normative considerations and is therefore more complex than straightforward desire–belief reasoning. Second, whenever normative considerations come into play, researchers should be cautious that ‘correct’ answers in theory of mind testing may not always have been based on theory of mind reasoning, and that ‘incorrect’ answers do not necessarily imply the absence of an active theory of mind.

Annotation: attachment disorganisation and psychopathology: new findings in attachment research and their potential implications for developmental psychopathology in childhood.

The past 10 years have seen a fruitful line of enquiry building on identification of previously unclassifiable patterns of infant-mother interaction. A critical review of these new findings in attachment theory, highlighting their potential relevance to child psychopathology, is presented. Selective literature review relating to disorganised attachment in childhood. Disorganised patterns of attachment have only relatively recently been described. They show characteristic patterns of evolution in development. There is evidence that disorganised attachments are associated with specific forms of distorted parenting, which are distinct from general parental insensitivity and are associated with unresolved loss or trauma in the caregiver. There are also links with aspects of neurodevelopment vulnerability in the child. Attachment disorganisation is a powerful predictor of a range of later social and cognitive difficulties and psychopathology. The identification of disorganised attachment has greatly increased the potential relevance of attachment theory to general clinical work. However, the concept raises many methodological and theoretical issues. Among issues needing further exploration is the way in which attachment disorganisation relates to children's general mental states and may be affected by cognitive functioning and developmental impairment.

The relation between children's and mothers' mental state language and theory-of-mind understanding.

This study investigated the relation between mothers' utterances and theory of mind in a longitudinal study involving three time points over 1 year. Mothers were asked to describe some pictures to 82 children at all three time points. Mothers' use of mental state utterances in these descriptions at early time points was consistently correlated with later theory-of-mind understanding. This was true even when a number of potential mediators were accounted for, including children's own use of mental state language, their earlier theory-of-mind understanding, their language ability, their age, mothers' education, and other types of mother utterances. Mothers' mental state utterances seemed genuinely causal because early theory-of-mind ability was not related to later mother mental state utterances (i.e., it was not a reciprocal relation). Results also showed that children's desire talk preceded their talk about beliefs.

Technology, Narcissism, and the Moral Sense: Implications for Instruction

Numerous researchers (Kohn, 1994; Kottler, 1992; Katz, 1993a, 1995; Streibel, 1994; Tingle, 1992) have recently examined the rise of narcissism in American culture and especially its relationship to education. However, William Damon's (1995) analysis of narcissism, which he frames against the larger dynamic of related social and cultural realities, is particularly engaging, although somewhat ominous:“Our heightened concern with children's internal mental states has combined with the increased child‐centeredness of modern times to create crippling imbalances in children's views of themselves and the world. When we tell children that their first goal is self‐love, we are suggesting to them that they are the center of the universe. By contributing further to the already child‐centered orientation of modern culture, this emphasis can push a child toward a narcissistic insensitivity to the needs of others. We should not dispute the value of self‐love, but we should question its utility as a primary goal in raising and educating children.” (p. 77)Damon's assessment of child‐rearing practices offers compelling reasons to reconsider self‐love as the central focus of such practices. His comments are additionally significant because they suggest a causative connection between child‐centeredness and narcissism and between narcissism and social insensitivity. “In citing these connections, Damon is echoing Christopher Lasch's (1979) equally troubling warning made almost twenty years ago in The Culture of Narcissism—a warning linking the ‘culture of narcissism’ to numerous dysfunctions within social institutions, including a multiplicity of failings in schooling.” (Ryan, 1997, p. 233)

Indexing transitional knowledge.

Various indexes have been proposed to mark when a child is on the verge of acquiring new knowledge. This article described a new method for indexing this point of transition, which is based on the specificity of children's verbal explanations. The degree to which children were specific in their verbal explanations was related to whether they benefited from instruction. In particular, children who were vague in their explanations (i.e., less specific) benefited from instruction more than children who were explicit in their explanations (i.e., more specific). This index provides insights into the child's mental state prior to acquiring new knowledge