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Concurrent associations between mothers’ references to internal states and children’s social understanding in middle childhood. / Paine, Amy; Hashmi, Salim; Roberts, Siwan et al.
In: Social Development, Vol. 28, No. 3, 2019, p. 529 - 548.

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Paine A, Hashmi S, Roberts S, Fyfield R, Hay D. Concurrent associations between mothers’ references to internal states and children’s social understanding in middle childhood. Social Development. 2019;28(3):529 - 548. doi: 10.1111/sode.12356

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TY - JOUR

T1 - Concurrent associations between mothers’ references to internal states and children’s social understanding in middle childhood.

AU - Paine, Amy

AU - Hashmi, Salim

AU - Roberts, Siwan

AU - Fyfield, Rhiannon

AU - Hay, Dale

PY - 2019

Y1 - 2019

N2 - Although it is well established that features of maternal speech are associated with children’s social understanding in the preschool years, few studies explore this relationship in middle childhood. Within the context of a prospective longitudinal study of a representative community sample of families (subsample n = 207, mean age = 82.88 months), we investigated concurrent associations between mothers’ internal state language and aspects of 7‐year‐olds’ social understanding, including children’s understanding of belief and spontaneous references to internal states during free play. When sociodemographic, maternal, and child characteristics were controlled, mothers’ references to their own cognitions were associated with dimensions of children’s social understanding. Our findings suggest that exposure to others’ perspectives contributes to children’s advanced understanding of minds, which has implications for interventions that foster social understanding.

AB - Although it is well established that features of maternal speech are associated with children’s social understanding in the preschool years, few studies explore this relationship in middle childhood. Within the context of a prospective longitudinal study of a representative community sample of families (subsample n = 207, mean age = 82.88 months), we investigated concurrent associations between mothers’ internal state language and aspects of 7‐year‐olds’ social understanding, including children’s understanding of belief and spontaneous references to internal states during free play. When sociodemographic, maternal, and child characteristics were controlled, mothers’ references to their own cognitions were associated with dimensions of children’s social understanding. Our findings suggest that exposure to others’ perspectives contributes to children’s advanced understanding of minds, which has implications for interventions that foster social understanding.

U2 - 10.1111/sode.12356

DO - 10.1111/sode.12356

M3 - Article

VL - 28

SP - 529

EP - 548

JO - Social Development

JF - Social Development

IS - 3

ER -