Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P)
IntroductionTheory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to understand and attribute mental states to oneself and others. A ToM measure is warranted for preschool children to assess their ToM development from a multidimensional perspective (i.e., cognitive and affective dimensions). This study aimed t...
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1274204/full |
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| author | I-Ning Fu I-Ning Fu I-Ning Fu Cheng-Te Chen Kuan-Lin Chen Kuan-Lin Chen Kuan-Lin Chen Meng-Ru Liu Ching-Lin Hsieh Ching-Lin Hsieh Ching-Lin Hsieh |
| author_facet | I-Ning Fu I-Ning Fu I-Ning Fu Cheng-Te Chen Kuan-Lin Chen Kuan-Lin Chen Kuan-Lin Chen Meng-Ru Liu Ching-Lin Hsieh Ching-Lin Hsieh Ching-Lin Hsieh |
| author_sort | I-Ning Fu |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionTheory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to understand and attribute mental states to oneself and others. A ToM measure is warranted for preschool children to assess their ToM development from a multidimensional perspective (i.e., cognitive and affective dimensions). This study aimed to develop the Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) and to evaluate its construct validity and applicability.MethodsThe ToMA-P was developed based on comprehensive literature review and revised with expert panel feedback. Its psychometric properties were evaluated in 205 typically developing preschoolers with Rasch analysis for its dimensionality, item difficulties, and convergent validity.ResultsThe results indicated that all ToMA-P items, except for one, fit the hypothesized two-dimensional construct. The item difficulties in the cognitive and affective dimensions followed developmental sequences. The ToMA-P scores exhibited good convergent validity, as evidenced by its significant correlations with age, verbal comprehension, adaptive functions, and daily ToM performance (p < 0.05). Children’s responses and behaviors also showed that the ToMA-P has good applicability.DiscussionThis study provides empirical evidence that the ToMA-P measures cognitive and affective ToM following developmental sequences, and that it has potential as a clinical tool for assessing ToM in preschool children. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T12:31:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-fa15de9299f9433a8530f238e2d1af39 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T12:31:18Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-fa15de9299f9433a8530f238e2d1af392024-04-08T04:52:43ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782024-04-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.12742041274204Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P)I-Ning Fu0I-Ning Fu1I-Ning Fu2Cheng-Te Chen3Kuan-Lin Chen4Kuan-Lin Chen5Kuan-Lin Chen6Meng-Ru Liu7Ching-Lin Hsieh8Ching-Lin Hsieh9Ching-Lin Hsieh10Child Developmental Assessment and Intervention Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanSchool of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, TaiwanDepartment of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, TaiwanInstitute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, TaiwanDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, TaiwanChild Developmental Assessment and Intervention Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanSchool of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, TaiwanDepartment of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taichung, TaiwanIntroductionTheory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to understand and attribute mental states to oneself and others. A ToM measure is warranted for preschool children to assess their ToM development from a multidimensional perspective (i.e., cognitive and affective dimensions). This study aimed to develop the Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) and to evaluate its construct validity and applicability.MethodsThe ToMA-P was developed based on comprehensive literature review and revised with expert panel feedback. Its psychometric properties were evaluated in 205 typically developing preschoolers with Rasch analysis for its dimensionality, item difficulties, and convergent validity.ResultsThe results indicated that all ToMA-P items, except for one, fit the hypothesized two-dimensional construct. The item difficulties in the cognitive and affective dimensions followed developmental sequences. The ToMA-P scores exhibited good convergent validity, as evidenced by its significant correlations with age, verbal comprehension, adaptive functions, and daily ToM performance (p < 0.05). Children’s responses and behaviors also showed that the ToMA-P has good applicability.DiscussionThis study provides empirical evidence that the ToMA-P measures cognitive and affective ToM following developmental sequences, and that it has potential as a clinical tool for assessing ToM in preschool children.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1274204/fulltheory of mindmultidimensional constructassessmentpreschool childrenitem response theory |
| spellingShingle | I-Ning Fu I-Ning Fu I-Ning Fu Cheng-Te Chen Kuan-Lin Chen Kuan-Lin Chen Kuan-Lin Chen Meng-Ru Liu Ching-Lin Hsieh Ching-Lin Hsieh Ching-Lin Hsieh Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) Frontiers in Psychology theory of mind multidimensional construct assessment preschool children item response theory |
| title | Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) |
| title_full | Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) |
| title_fullStr | Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) |
| title_short | Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) |
| title_sort | development and validation of the newly developed preschool theory of mind assessment toma p |
| topic | theory of mind multidimensional construct assessment preschool children item response theory |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1274204/full |
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