Theory of mind and emotion regulation in school-aged children: Associations with parental reflective functioning

Children's theory of mind (ToM) and emotion regulation (ER) have been associated with various parental factors. This study examined associations between ToM, ER, and dimensions of parental reflective functioning (RF) in children aged 7 to 12 years. A total of 95 children (M = 8.85 years, 51 girls, and 44 boys) and their mothers took part in the study. Children completed two higher-order ToM tasks and mothers rated their own RF and children's ToM and ER. Analyses revealed unique effects of parental prementalizing modes (PM) on both task-measured and parent-reported ToM as well as on children's socially-appropriate ER skills and their lability/negativity. Moreover, parents' interest and curiosity about their children's mental states (IC) was uniquely associated with parent-reported ToM and ER. The study also revealed bidirectional mediation effects, with ToM mediating the relationship between ER and both PM and IC, and ER mediating the relationship between ToM and both PM and IC.