| Title: |
Caregivers' Cognitions about Infants' Mental and Emotional States |
| Language: |
English |
| Authors: |
Julia Garon-Bissonnette (ORCID 0000-0003-0674-2462); Lauren G. Bailes (ORCID 0000-0002-0790-1771); Kate Kwasneski (ORCID 0009-0003-8239-1964); Sarah Lempres (ORCID 0000-0002-5876-0673); Sydney Takemoto (ORCID 0009-0004-6816-7250); Lu Li (ORCID 0009-0001-9586-5431); Julia DeLuca; Virginia C. Salo (ORCID 0000-0002-4270-102X); Kathryn L. Humphreys (ORCID 0000-0002-5715-6597) |
| Source: |
Child Development Perspectives. 2025 19(3):146-155. |
| Availability: |
Wiley. Available from: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030. Tel: 800-835-6770; e-mail: cs-journals@wiley.com; Web site: https://www.wiley.com/en-us |
| Peer Reviewed: |
Y |
| Page Count: |
10 |
| Publication Date: |
2025 |
| Sponsoring Agency: |
National Science Foundation (NSF); National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (DHHS/NIH); Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH) |
| Contract Number: |
2042285; R01MH129634 |
| Document Type: |
Journal Articles; Reports - Evaluative |
| Descriptors: |
Schemata (Cognition); Empathy; Parent Child Relationship; Infant Behavior; Infants; Social Development; Emotional Development; Measurement; Toddlers; Correlation |
| DOI: |
10.1111/cdep.12537 |
| ISSN: |
1750-8592; 1750-8606 |
| Abstract: |
Given the relevance of caregivers' perceptions, cognitions, and emotions about their child's mental states for caregiving behavior and children's development, researchers from multiple theoretical perspectives have developed constructs to assess caregivers' cognitions, resulting in a large but scattered body of literature. In this article, we highlight the conceptual overlap among and uniqueness of six constructs assessing caregivers' cognitions about their child at 36 months and younger: infant intentionality, mental representations, mind-mindedness, parental embodied mentalizing, parental empathy, and parental reflective functioning. We define constructs, present approaches to measurement, and propose elements of importance that fall under the umbrella of caregivers' cognitions and that may be associated differentially with children's early cognitive and social-emotional development. We conclude with recommendations for researchers aiming to capture caregivers' cognitions about their child's mental states, whether focusing on one of the six reviewed constructs or on specific elements (e.g., awareness of the child's mind or accuracy of caregivers' perceptions of their child) under the umbrella of caregivers' cognitions. |
| Abstractor: |
As Provided |
| Entry Date: |
2025 |
| Accession Number: |
EJ1480058 |
| Database: |
ERIC |