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Family Correlates of False Belief Understanding in Early Childhood: A Meta‐Analysis
Author(s) -
Devine Rory T.,
Hughes Claire
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
child development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.103
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1467-8624
pISSN - 0009-3920
DOI - 10.1111/cdev.12682
Subject(s) - psychology , moderation , developmental psychology , socioeconomic status , meta analysis , child development , childhood development , social psychology , demography , population , medicine , sociology
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.