The Longitudinal Association of Maternal Cultural Values With Maternal Mental State Talk and Children's Theory of Mind

Bibliographic Data

ID19224586
AuthorsMüge Ekerim-Akbulut (0000-0002-2074-8003, Istanbul 29 Mayis University, corresponding author), Müge Ekerim‐Akbulut (Department of Psychology Istanbul 29 Mayis University Ümraniye İstanbul Türkiye)
Year2026
Volume35
Issue3
Publication date2026-04-25
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueSocial Development (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1467-9507 • E-ISSN: 0961-205X
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1111/sode.70066
OpenAlexW7155683613
LanguageEN
References cited35

This longitudinal study examined the associations among maternal cultural values, maternal mental state talk (MST), and preschool children's ( M age = 51.68 months) theory of mind (ToM) across two time points 1 year apart. Participants were 119 Turkish mother–child dyads at T1 and 89 at T2. Mothers reported their endorsement of individualist and collectivist values and engaged in a joint book‐reading task with their children to assess MST, while children completed a battery of ToM tasks at both waves. Results showed that stronger maternal endorsement of family values, a core dimension of collectivism, was associated with children's lower ToM at both time points. Notably, cross‐lagged analyses revealed a child‐driven effect: children's earlier advanced ToM predicted higher maternal MST 1 year later, even after controlling for prior MST, whereas higher maternal MST did not predict increased ToM 1 year later. Moreover, higher family values were indirectly associated with lower subsequent MST via children's reduced ToM at T1. These findings highlight the dynamic and child‐driven nature of mother–child interactions in the cultural context of Türkiye and suggest that strong endorsement of family values may constrain children's exposure to diverse mental perspectives, with cascading effects on both ToM development and maternal MST

Collectivism · Cultural values · Longitudinal study · Mental health · Theory of mind · Turkish · Child and Animal Learning Development · Cultural Differences and Values · Social Representations and Identity

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