Developing the anatolian developmental theory of mind scale: determining pyscometric features in typically developing children and children with hearing loss

Daily life, filled with interactions, has meaning through the use of ToM, the capacity of people to understand what is going on in other minds. Researchers have developed ToM measurement tools in various formats to understand and assess how these skills function. To contribute to this need, the present study was conducted to determine the reliability and validity of the Anatolian Developmental Theory of Mind Scale. Participants were children aged 4-8 years (48-107 months) (N = 1019). Typically developing children participated in the pilot (n = 48), in the first (n = 539) and second (n = 270) phases, and children with hearing loss participated in the third phase (n = 162). As a result of the exploratory factor analysis, a three-factor structure was determined as desire understanding, belief understanding and implicit constructs. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted in the second and third stages and the factor structure was confirmed. As a result of the analyses and calculations, it was determined that the Anatolian Developmental Theory of Mind Scale can be used as a valid and reliable measurement tool for measuring and evaluating the theory of mind skills of children aged 4-8 years. In terms of the structure of the scale, it is appropriate to the theoretical basis, and its validity and reliability are stronger than other ToM scales. In terms of usefulness, the fact that it is a digital scale and that the scoring can be done in a completely reliable way without data loss are advantageous aspects of the scale. The fact that the validity and reliability of the scale has been proven in children with hearing loss extends the use of the scale. Keywords: Theory of mind, Children with hearing loss, Measurement and evaluation, Validity and reliability, Digital measurement tool