Orta çocukluk döneminde zihinsel durum fiillerinin kullanımı, zihin kuramı ve sosyal beceriler arasındaki ilişkiler

Understanding mental states and using terms to express this understanding are considered to be important for social interaction. However, only a few studies examined mental state language, ToM and social skills together. The present study aimed to assess the nature of the association between mental state language and ToM and whether it extends to social skills in terms of two dimensions which were social competence and antisocial behaviors in school-age children. Participants were 80 Turkish elementary school children between the ages of 6 to 10 (Mage = 8.48, SD = 1.00, 43 girls). Mental state language, ToM, linguistic competence and general cognitive ability were assessed through behavioral tasks, and social skills were measured through teachers' reports. A hierarchical linear regression analysis showed that even though mental state language continued to be associated with ToM in elementary school, there were also other cognitive abilities such as linguistic complexity and general cognitive ability that accounted for the association between mental state language and ToM. In addition, ToM mediated the association between mental state language and social competence. Antisocial behaviors, on the other hand, were negatively correlated with mental state language but not with ToM. These results provided important contributions to understand the nature of the link between mental state language and ToM and its extent to social skills. Keywords: Mental state language, theory of mind, social skills, school-age children