Top

Gepubliceerd in:

06-07-2021 | Original Paper

Theory of Mind, Anxiety, and Interpretive Bias During Middle Childhood

Auteurs: Melania Moldovan, Laura Visu-Petra

Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies | Uitgave 1/2022

Abstract

The developmental trajectory of the anxiety-related interpretive bias (a tendency to inappropriately interpret ambiguous stimuli as threatening) and its precursors is not fully elucidated. In this study we focused on the role of the interpretive theory of mind, relating it to the emergence of the interpretive bias, and to anxiety symptoms during middle childhood. Children aged 9–11 years (N = 86) were presented with 4 vignettes, each containing two parts. The first part assessed the child’s interpretive bias using an ambiguous story paradigm, while the second part measured the interpretive theory of mind with a novel task assessing the understanding of biased social cognition. Parents reported on their children’s theory of mind and anxiety symptoms, while children completed a self-report of the same anxiety measure. Results revealed that overall theory of mind ratings were negatively associated with interpretive bias and anxiety symptoms. Additionally, children with a higher performance on the novel interpretive theory of mind tasks had lower interpretive bias and anxiety symptoms. Children more prone to acknowledging the significance of a character’s biased belief in constructing the character’s interpretation and justification of the ambiguous situation (interpretive theory of mind), as well as those who used the relevant explicit information to construct their interpretation had lower anxiety symptoms, as well as lower scores on the interpretive bias task, than those that did not. Understanding the relationship between theory of mind and information processing biases is paramount for ameliorating early anxiety vulnerability signs during middle childhood.

vorige artikel Shyness, Parent–Child Relationships, and Peer Difficulties During the Middle School Transition

volgende artikel Testing Children’s Mentalizing in Middle Childhood: Adopting the Child and Adolescent Reflective Functioning Scale with Clinical and Community Children

Alleen toegankelijk voor geautoriseerde gebruikers

Alfano, C. A., Beidel, D. C., & Turner, S. M. (2002). Cognition in childhood anxiety: conceptual, methodological, and developmental issues. Clinical Psychology Review, 22(8), 1209–1238. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-7358(02)00205-2.CrossRefPubMed

Ballespí, S., Pérez-Domingo, A., Vives, J., Sharp, C., & Barrantes-Vidal, N. (2018). Childhood behavioral inhibition is associated with impaired mentalizing in adolescence. PLoS ONE, 13(3), e0195303 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0195303.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Banerjee, R., & Henderson, L. (2001). Social‐cognitive factors in childhood social anxiety: a preliminary investigation. Social Development, 10(4), 558–572. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9507.00180.CrossRef

Barrett, P. M., Rapee, R. M., Dadds, M. M., & Ryan, S. M. (1996). Family enhancement of cognitive style in anxious and aggressive children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 24(2), 187–203. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01441484.CrossRefPubMed

Barquero, B., Robinson, E., & Thomas, G. (2003). Children’s ability to attribute different interpretations of ambiguous drawings to a naive vs. a biased observer. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 27(5), 445–456. https://doi.org/10.1080/01650250344000064.CrossRef

Behbahani, F. A., Mohseni, N., Hejazi, E., & Hejazi, B. (2012). Preschool children’s understanding of biased social cognition. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 32, 8–13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sbspro.2012.01.002.CrossRef

Broeren, S., & Muris, P. (2009). The relation between cognitive development and anxiety phenomena in children. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18(6), 702 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9276-8.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Broeren, S., Muris, P., Diamantopoulou, S., & Baker, J. R. (2013). The course of childhood anxiety symptoms: developmental trajectories and child-related factors in normal children. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 41(1), 81–95. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-012-9669-9.CrossRefPubMed

Brock, L. L., Kim, H., Kelly, C. L., Mashburn, A. J., & Grissmer, D. W. (2019). Theory of mind, directly and indirectly, facilitates kindergarten adjustment via verbal ability, executive function, and emotion knowledge. Psychology in the Schools, 56(2), 176–193. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22216.CrossRef

Buhlmann, U., Wacker, R., & Dziobek, I. (2015). Inferring other people’s states of mind: comparison across social anxiety, body dysmorphic, and obsessive–compulsive disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 34, 107–113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2015.06.003.CrossRefPubMed

Carpendale, J. I., & Chandler, M. J. (1996). On the distinction between false belief understanding and subscribing to an interpretive theory of mind. Child Development, 67(4), 1686–1706. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.1996.tb01821.x.CrossRef

Chorpita, B. F., Yim, L., Moffitt, C., Umemoto, L. A., & Francis, S. E. (2000). Assessment of symptoms of DSM-IV anxiety and depression in children: a revised child anxiety and depression scale. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 38(8), 835–855. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7967(99)00130-8.CrossRefPubMed

Clark, D. A., & Beck, A. T. (2010). Cognitive therapy of anxiety disorders: science and practice. New York, NY: Guilford Press.

Colonnesi, C., Nikolić, M., de Vente, W., & Bögels, S. M. (2017). Social anxiety symptoms in young children: investigating the interplay of theory of mind and expressions of shyness. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 45(5), 997–1011. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0206-0.CrossRefPubMed

Creswell, C., & O’Connor, T. G. (2006). Anxious cognitions in children: an exploration of associations and mediators. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 24(4), 761–766. https://doi.org/10.1348/026151005X70418.CrossRef

Creswell, C., Shildrick, S., & Field, A. P. (2011). Interpretation of ambiguity in children: a prospective study of associations with anxiety and parental interpretations. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 20(2), 240–250. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-010-9390-7.CrossRef

Dennis, T. A., Chen, C. C., & McCandliss, B. D. (2008). Threat‐related attentional biases: an analysis of three attention systems. Depression and Anxiety, 25(6), E1–E10. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.20308.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

European Commission Romania (2021). România, restanƫieră la educaƫie şi formare. https://ec.europa.eu/romania/news/20181016_monitor_european_educatie_si_formare_2018_date_romania_ue_ro

Faul, F., Erdfelder, E., Lang, A. G., & Buchner, A. (2007). G* Power 3: a flexible statistical power analysis program for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behavior Research Methods, 39(2), 175–191. https://doi.org/10.3758/BF03193146.CrossRefPubMed

Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS. 3rd edn. London: SAGE Publication.

Field, A.P., & Lester, K.J. (2010a). Learning of information processing biases in anxious children and adolescents. In J.A. Hadwin & A.P. Field (Eds.), Information processing biases and anxiety: a developmental perspective (pp. 253–278). Wiley Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470661468.ch11

Field, A. P., & Lester, K. J. (2010b). Is there room for ‘development’ in developmental models of information processing biases to threat in children and adolescents? Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 13(4), 315–332. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-010-0078-8.CrossRefPubMed

Grist, R. M., & Field, A. P. (2012). The mediating effect of cognitive development on children’s worry elaboration. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 43(2), 801–807. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2011.11.002.CrossRefPubMed

Hadwin, J.A., & Field, A.P. (2010). An introduction to the study of information processing biases in childhood anxiety: theoretical and methodological issues. In J.A. Hadwin & A.P. Field (Eds.), Information processing biases and anxiety: a developmental perspective (pp. 1–17). Wiley Blackwell. https://doi.org/10.1002/9780470661468.ch1

Hale, C. M., & Tager‐Flusberg, H. (2003). The influence of language on theory of mind: a training study. Developmental Science, 6(3), 346–359. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-7687.00289.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Hezel, D. M., & McNally, R. J. (2014). Theory of mind impairments in social anxiety disorder. Behavior Therapy, 45(4), 530–540. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2014.02.010.CrossRefPubMed

Hutchins, T. L., Prelock, P. A., & Bonazinga, L. (2012). Psychometric evaluation of the Theory of Mind Inventory (ToMI): a study of typically developing children and children with autism spectrum disorder. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 42(3), 327–341. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-011-1244-7.CrossRefPubMed

Jakubowska, J., & Białecka‐Pikul, M. (2020). A new model of the development of deception: disentangling the role of false‐belief understanding in deceptive ability. Social Development, 29(1), 21–40. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12404.CrossRef

Kilinçel, Ş., Vural, A. P., & Kilinçel, O. (2020). Theory of mind deficit in adolescents with major depressive disorder. Anadolu Psikiyatri Dergisi, 21(2), 158–164. https://doi.org/10.5455/apd.53279.CrossRef

Kennedy, K., Lagattuta, K. H., & Sayfan, L. (2015). Sibling composition, executive function, and children’s thinking about mental diversity. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 132, 121–139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2014.11.007.CrossRefPubMed

Lalonde, C. E., & Chandler, M. J. (2002). Children’s understanding of interpretation. New Ideas in Psychology, 20(2), 163–198. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0732-118X(02)00007-7.CrossRef

Lavoie, M. A., Battaglia, M., & Achim, A. M. (2014). A meta-analysis and scoping review of social cognition performance in social phobia, posttraumatic stress disorder and other anxiety disorders. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 28(2), 169–177. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2013.09.005.CrossRefPubMed

Lester, K. J., Field, A. P., Oliver, S., & Cartwright-Hatton, S. (2009). Do anxious parents interpretive biases towards threat extend into their child’s environment? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(2), 170–174. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2008.11.005.CrossRefPubMed

Lester, K. J., Seal, K., Nightingale, Z. C., & Field, A. P. (2010). Are children’s own interpretations of ambiguous situations based on how they perceive their mothers have interpreted ambiguous situations for them in the past? Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24(1), 102–108. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.janxdis.2009.09.004.CrossRefPubMed

Mathews, A., & Mackintosh, B. (1998). A cognitive model of selective processing in anxiety. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 22(6), 539–560. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018738019346.CrossRef

Miller, S. A. (2000). Children’s understanding of preexisting differences in knowledge and belief. Developmental Review, 20(2), 227–282. https://doi.org/10.1006/drev.1999.0501.CrossRef

Mills, C. M. (2013). Knowing when to doubt: developing a critical stance when learning from others. Developmental Psychology, 49(3), 404–418. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0029500.CrossRefPubMed

Mills, C. M., & Elashi, F. B. (2014). Children’s skepticism: developmental and individual differences in children’s ability to detect and explain distorted claims. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 124, 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jecp.2014.01.015.CrossRefPubMed

Mink, D., Henning, A., & Aschersleben, G. (2014). Infant shy temperament predicts preschoolers theory of mind. Infant Behavior and Development, 37(1), 66–75. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2013.12.001.CrossRefPubMed

Muris, P., Mayer, B., Freher, N. K., Duncan, S., & van den Hout, A. (2010). Children’s internal attributions of anxiety-related physical symptoms: age-related patterns and the role of cognitive development and anxiety sensitivity. Child Psychiatry and Human Development, 41(5), 535–548. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-010-0186-1.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Muris, P., Mayer, B., Vermeulen, L., & Hiemstra, H. (2007). Theory-of-mind, cognitive development, and children’s interpretation of anxiety-related physical symptoms. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 45(9), 2121–2132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brat.2007.02.014.CrossRefPubMed

Naito, M., & Seki, Y. (2009). The relationship between second‐order false belief and display rules reasoning: The integration of cognitive and affective social understanding. Developmental Science, 12(1), 150–164. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2008.00748.x.CrossRefPubMed

National Institute of Statistics (2021). Earnings - since 1991, the monthly series. fromhttps://insse.ro/cms/en/content/earnings-1991-monthly-series

Nikolić, M., van der Storm, L., Colonnesi, C., Brummelman, E., Kan, K. J., & Bögels, S. (2019). Are socially anxious children poor or advanced mindreaders? Child Development, 90(4), 1424–1441. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13248.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Öztürk, Y., Özyurt, G., Turan, S., Mutlu, C., Tufan, A. E., & Akay, A. P. (2020). Association of theory of mind and empathy abilities in adolescents with social anxiety disorder. Current Psychology, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-020-00707-2

Pearcey, S., Gordon, K., Chakrabarti, B., Dodd, H., Halldorsson, B., & Creswell, C. (2020). Research Review: The relationship between social anxiety and social cognition in children and adolescents: a systematic review and meta‐analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.13310.CrossRefPubMed

Pillow, B. H. (1991). Children’s understanding of biased social cognition. Developmental Psychology, 27(4), 539–551. https://doi.org/10.1037/0012-1649.27.4.539.CrossRef

Pillow, B. H. (1995). Two trends in the development of conceptual perspective-taking: an elaboration of the passive-active hypothesis. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 18(4), 649–676. https://doi.org/10.1177/016502549501800405.CrossRef

Pillow, B. H., & Mash, C. (1998). Children’s understanding of misinterpretation: source identification and perspective-taking. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 44(2), 129–140. http://www.jstor.org/stable/23093662 http://www.jstor.org/stable/23093662

Pillow, B. H., & Mash, C. (1999). Young children’s understanding of interpretation, expectation and direct perception as sources of false belief. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 17(2), 263–276. https://doi.org/10.1348/026151099165267.CrossRef

Pillow, B. H., & Weed, S. T. (1995). Children’s understanding of biased interpretation: generality and limitations. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 13(4), 347–366. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-835X.1995.tb00685.x.CrossRef

Reddy, V. (2007). Getting back to the rough ground: deception and “social living”. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences, 362, 621–637. https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2006.1999.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Ross, H. S., Recchia, H. E., & Carpendale, J. I. (2005). Making sense of divergent interpretations of conflict and developing an interpretive understanding of mind. Journal of Cognition and Development, 6(4), 571–592. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327647jcd0604_7.CrossRef

Schoth, D. E., & Liossi, C. (2017). A systematic review of experimental paradigms for exploring biased interpretation of ambiguous information with emotional and neutral associations. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 171 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00171.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Sodian, B., & Kristen, S. (2010). Theory of mind. In B. M. Glatzeder, V. Goel & A. von Muller (Eds.), Towards a theory of thinking (pp. 189–201). Berlin: Springer-Verlag.CrossRef

Stuijfzand, S., Creswell, C., Field, A. P., Pearcey, S., & Dodd, H. (2018). Research review: is anxiety associated with negative interpretations of ambiguity in children and adolescents? A systematic review and meta‐analysis. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 59(11), 1127–1142. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12822.CrossRefPubMed

Suarez, L., & Bell-Dolan, D. (2001). The relationship of child worry to cognitive biases: threat interpretation and likelihood of event occurrence. Behavior Therapy, 32(3), 425–442. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0005-7894(01)80029-0.CrossRef

Visu-Petra, L., Cheie, L., Benga, O., & Alloway, T. P. (2011). Effects of anxiety on memory storage and updating in young children. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 35(1), 38–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025410368945.CrossRef

Wellman, H. M., Cross, D., & Watson, J. (2001). Meta‐analysis of theory‐of‐mind development: the truth about false belief. Child Development, 72(3), 655–684. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8624.00304.CrossRefPubMed

Wellman, H. M., Lane, J. D., LaBounty, J., & Olson, S. L. (2011). Observant, nonaggressive temperament predicts theory‐of‐mind development. Developmental Science, 14(2), 319–326. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2010.00977.x.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

White, L. O., Klein, A. M., von Klitzing, K., Graneist, A., Otto, Y., Hill, J., Over, H., Fonagy, P., & Crowley, M. J. (2016). Putting ostracism into perspective: young children tell more mentalistic stories after exclusion, but not when anxious. Frontiers in Psychology, 7, 1926 https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01926.CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Williams, J. M. G., Watts, F. N., MacLeod, C., & Mathews, A. (1997). Cognitive psychology and emotional disorders. 2nd edn. Chichester: John Wiley & Sons.

Wilson, E. J., MacLeod, C., Mathews, A., & Rutherford, E. M. (2006). The causal role of interpretive bias in anxiety reactivity. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 115(1), 103–111. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.115.1.103.CrossRefPubMed

Titel: Theory of Mind, Anxiety, and Interpretive Bias During Middle Childhood
Auteurs: Melania Moldovan
Laura Visu-Petra
Publicatiedatum: 06-07-2021
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Journal of Child and Family Studies / Uitgave 1/2022
Print ISSN: 1062-1024
Elektronisch ISSN: 1573-2843
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-021-02023-0

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen

Andere artikelen Uitgave 1/2022

Factors Related to Use of Mental Health Services by Immigrant Children

Correction to: Children’s Perspectives on Emotions Informing a Child-Reported Screening Instrument

Effects of Parental Acceptance-Rejection on Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Behaviors: A Longitudinal, Multicultural Study

Mental Health in Children of Immigrants in Germany: The Role of Socio-Demographic and Immigration-Related Characteristics

Exposure Quality in Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Youth Anxiety Disorders—Predictors and Associations with Outcomes

Shyness, Parent–Child Relationships, and Peer Difficulties During the Middle School Transition