School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, China.
School of Psychology, Shaanxi Normal University, China; Shaanxi Provincial Key Research Center of Child Mental and Behavioral Health, Xi'an, China; Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Behavior and Cognitive Neuroscience, Xi'an, China.
Child Abuse Negl. 2022 Feb;124:105472. doi: 10.1016/j.chiabu.2021.105472. Epub 2022 Jan 3.
China's rapid development and urbanization since the early 1980s have compelled many rural residents to move from rural to urban areas for work, leaving thousands of children at home.
This study tested the mediating effect of children's theory of mind on the relationship between caregivers' mind-mindedness and their children's insecure attachment differently depending on the different family status (the moderator) of left-behind and non-left-behind.
The participants were 3 to 6 years old 74 left-behind children (LBHC) and 89 non-left-behind children (NLBHC).
Participants were from rural counties of central China in Henan province that has experienced a large labor migration.
A cross-sectional moderated mediation model linked mind-mindedness (independent variable) and insecure attachment (dependent variable) through the theory of mind (mediator) and family status (moderator: left-behind/non-left-behind), controlling for age, gender, and siblings.
First, LBHC scored higher on insecure-disorganized attachment than NLBHC. Second, the early childhood theory of mind mediated the relationship between the caregiver's mind-mindedness and young children's insecure attachment. Third, family status moderated the effects of the theory of mind on insecure attachment. The mediating role was established only for the left-behind family, and the lower theory of mind ability was associated with the greater insecure attachment of LBHC.
Our findings highlight the critical role of mind-mindedness, theory of mind, and family status in the attachment theory and clarify the association between different levels of young children's theory of mind and insecure attachment based on family status.
自 20 世纪 80 年代初以来，中国的快速发展和城市化进程迫使许多农村居民从农村迁往城市工作，导致成千上万的儿童留守在家。
本研究检验了儿童心理理论在照顾者心理理论与儿童不安全依恋关系中的中介作用，同时考虑了不同家庭状况（调节变量）对留守儿童和非留守儿童的影响。
参与者为 3 至 6 岁的 74 名留守儿童（LBHC）和 89 名非留守儿童（NLBHC）。
参与者来自中国中部河南省的农村县，这些地区经历了大规模的劳动力迁移。
采用横断面调节中介模型，通过心理理论（中介变量）将心理理论（自变量）和不安全依恋（因变量）联系起来，并考虑了家庭状况（调节变量：留守/非留守）、年龄、性别和兄弟姐妹等因素。
首先，LBHC 在不安全型依恋上的得分高于 NLBHC。其次，儿童早期心理理论中介了照顾者心理理论与幼儿不安全依恋之间的关系。第三，家庭状况调节了心理理论对不安全依恋的影响。这种中介作用仅在留守家庭中成立，且心理理论能力越低，LBHC 的不安全依恋程度越高。
我们的研究结果强调了心理理论、心理理论和家庭状况在依恋理论中的关键作用，并根据家庭状况阐明了不同水平的幼儿心理理论与不安全依恋之间的关联。
