Longitudinal relations between theory of mind and academic achievement among deaf and hard-of-hearing school-aged children

Joanna Smogorzewska; Grzegorz Szumski; Sandra Bosacki; Paweł Grygiel; Christopher Osterhaus

doi:10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105806

Longitudinal relations between theory of mind and academic achievement among deaf and hard-of-hearing school-aged children

J Exp Child Psychol. 2024 Mar:239:105806. doi: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105806. Epub 2023 Nov 13.

Authors

Joanna Smogorzewska¹, Grzegorz Szumski², Sandra Bosacki³, Paweł Grygiel⁴, Christopher Osterhaus⁵

Affiliations

¹ Faculty of Education, University of Warsaw, 00-561 Warsaw, Poland. Electronic address: j.smogorzewsk2@uw.edu.pl.
² Faculty of Education, University of Warsaw, 00-561 Warsaw, Poland.
³ Faculty of Education, Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario L2S 3A1, Canada.
⁴ Faculty of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, 31-007 Cracow, Poland.
⁵ Faculty of Psychology, University of Vechta, 49377 Vechta, Germany.

PMID: 37967482
DOI: 10.1016/j.jecp.2023.105806

Abstract

This 2-year longitudinal study investigated the bidirectional relations between the development of theory of mind (ToM) and academic competences in a sample of 270 deaf and hard-of-hearing (DHH) children (M_age at Wave 1 = 7.52 years, SD = 0.99; 58.5% boys and 41.5% girls). Across three waves (10 months apart), children were assessed for their ToM abilities, using the ToM scale and a second-order false belief task, as well as for their language and mathematics skills. Cross-lagged correlational analysis revealed significant bidirectional associations between ToM and academic achievement (language and mathematics). That is, ToM predicted academic achievement with similar strength as ToM development itself was predicted by academic achievement. Our results highlight the bidirectional nature of the association between ToM and academic achievement, and they show that ToM development plays a crucial role in DHH children's school functioning.

Keywords: Academic achievement; Cross-lagged correlations; Deaf and hard-of-hearing children; Theory of mind.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

Academic Success*
Child
Communication
Deception
Female
Humans
Longitudinal Studies
Male
Persons With Hearing Impairments*
Theory of Mind*