A Longitudinal Study of Children’s Theory of Mind and Drawings of Play

Abstract

This study investigated the longitudinal relations between theory of mind (ToM) understanding and children's drawings of play in 26 school-aged children, (16 females, 10 males, aged 8-12 years). Theory of mind was assessed at Time 1 (T1, M = 8 y 5m) and two years later at Time 2 (T2, M =10 y 4 m), as well as children's drawings of play activities. Longitudinally, significant positive associations (p < .05) were found between T1 ToM ability and the T2 verbal description of the child's drawing (r = .38). A significant negative correlation was found between children's verbal descriptions of their drawings and emotional facial expressions (r =-.44). The majority of the drawings reflected physical play activities, with physical, competitive activities (e.g., soccer). Implications for socioemotional and cognitive development in middle childhood are discussed.