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

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Hughes, Claire 

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.

Description

Keywords

Age Factors, Child, Child Development, Child, Preschool, Comprehension, Family, Female, Humans, Male, Sex Factors, Social Class, Theory of Mind

Journal Title

Child Dev

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0009-3920
1467-8624

Volume Title

Publisher

Wiley
Sponsorship
Economic and Social Research Council (ES/J021180/1)
Isaac Newton Trust, UK Economic and Social Research Council (Grant ID: ES/JO21180/1)