Background

1. Maternal Mind-Mindedness in the First Year Predicts Acquisition of Internal State Language and Symbolic Play at Age 2Charles Fernyhough, Elizabeth Meins, Bronia Arnott, Susan Leekam, Michelle Turner, Lucia Vittorini Background Mothers’ mind-minded (MM) discourse with their infants at 6 months is an early predictor of later theory of mind (ToM) abilities (Meins et al., 2002). Early maternal MM may predict children’s later mentalizing abilities because, in accurately reading their infants’ internal states, mothers provide children with a linguistic scaffold for acquiring an understanding of internal states (Meins et al., 2003). Accordingly, maternal MM should relate positively to children’s acquisition of internal state language (ISL). Alternatively, MM interactions may facilitate children’s general early symbolic representational abilities, such as symbolic play. Hypotheses We predicted that early MM would be positively associated with both children’s later ISL and with their symbolic play. Method 206 mother–infant dyads (108 girls) from diverse social backgrounds participated when infants were 8m and 24m. MM was assessed from mothers’ speech during free-play interactions at 8m. Mind-related comments (MRC) were classified as appropriate or inappropriate, and expressed as percentages of the total number of comments. High scores for appropriate MRC are indicative of greater MM; high scores for inappropriate MRC indicate a tendency to misread the infant’s internal states (lower MM). General maternal sensitivity was also coded (potential range 1–9). Infants’ acquisition of ISL (frequency score) was assessed at 24m using the MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (MCI; Fenson et al., 1993). Symbolic play was assessed at 24m using the Test of Pretend Play (ToPP; Lewis & Boucher, 1997). Results Descriptive Statistics Mean (SD) Range Mother–Infant Interaction (8m) Total comments 219.22 69.65 48–395 % approp. MRC 5.34 3.64 0–19 % inapprop. MRC 1.59 1.88 0–9 Maternal sensitivity 5.64 1.48 2–9 Child Language and Play (24m) MCI internal state 4.73 3.95 0–14 ToPP 3.05 2.77 0–17 ISL (MCI internal state) and ToPP scores were significantly positively correlated, r = .19, p < .05. Predicting ISL A linear regression identified predictors of ISL, with socio-economic status (SES) and maternal education entered at Step 1, and maternal MM (appropriate MRC, inappropriate MRC) and sensitivity entered at Step 2. SES ( = .18) was a significant predictor of ISL, as was inappropriate MRC ( = -.14). The model predicted 5.8% of the variance in ISL scores. Predicting symbolic play Predictors of symbolic play (ToPP) were then examined using a two-step model as above. SES ( = .19) was a significant predictor of symbolic play, as was inappropriate MRC ( = -.20). The model predicted 11.5% of the variance in ToPP scores. Results summary Higher scores for ISL and symbolic play at 24m were independently predicted by higher SES and lower inappropriate MRC at 8m. Maternal sensitivity was not a significant predictor in any analyses. Discussion Our findings support the idea that MM has a role in the development of ISL, and that this effect generalizes to symbolic play abilities. Children demonstrated superior ISL and symbolic play abilities at 24m if their mothers tended not to misread their internal states at age 8m. Further analyses will allow us to determine whether our findings are best modelled in terms of an association between MM (specifically inappropriate MRC) and a general symbolic capacity (underlying both ISL and symbolic play), or whether these capacities are best modelled as distinct variables. References Fenson, L., Dale, P.S., Reznick, J.S., Thal, D., Bates, E., Hartung, P., et al. (1993). The MacArthur Communicative Development Inventories. San Diego CA. Singular Publishing Group. Lewis, V., & Boucher, J. (1997). The Test of Pretend Play. The Psychological Corporation. Meins, E., Fernyhough, C., Wainwright, R., Das Gupta, M., Fradley, E., & Tuckey, M. (2002). Maternal mind-mindedness and attachment security as predictors of theory of mind understanding. Child Development, 73,1715-1726. Meins, E., Fernyhough, C., Wainwright, R., Clark-Carter, D., Das Gupta, M., Fradley, E., & Tuckey, M. (2003). Pathways to understanding mind: Construct validity and predictive validity of maternal mind-mindedness.Child Development, 74, 1194-1211. Acknowledgements This study was supported by the Economic and Social Research Council (grant ref. R-000-239-456).