THE ROLE OF PARENTAL PERSONALITY ON YOUNG CHILDREN’S THEORY-OF-MIND DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

The present study examined the role of parental personality on children’s Theory-of-Mind development. Previous research has shown that parental personality is associated with parenting styles, and that authoritarian parenting can negatively influence children’s Theory of-Mind development. Thus, this study specifically investigates if parental authoritarian personality – which was divided into two facets of Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA) and Social Dominance Orientation (SDO) – negatively predicted children’s Theory-of-Mind development, through authoritarian parenting. Ninety-two children aged two-and-a-half to four years completed Theory-of-Mind tasks, while an accompanying parent filled up an online questionnaire measuring parenting styles, parental RWA and SDO. Parent-child dyads also took part in an Etch-A-Sketch drawing task, which was coded for the dimensions of parental control and warmth. Mediation analyses revealed a positive association between parental SDO and children’s Theory-of-Mind development, however, this association was not mediated by authoritarian parenting styles. Authoritarian parenting also revealed an unexpected positive association with children’s Theory-of-Mind development but was non-significant. Taken together, this study sheds light on the previously unexplored link between parental authoritarian personality and children’s Theory-of-Mind and provides greater insight into the parental antecedents of children’s Theory-of-Mind.