Factorial Validity of the Theory of Mind Inventory-2 in Typically Developing Children.
The ToMI-2’s published factor structures don’t hold up in typically developing preschoolers—don’t rely on its subscale scores yet.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team gave parents of 3- to 7-year-old typically developing kids the Theory of Mind Inventory-2.
They ran two confirmatory factor analyses to see if the published subscales held up.
What they found
Neither the development-based nor the social-related factor structure fit the data.
In plain words, the test’s own sub-scores don’t measure separate skills in preschoolers.
How this fits with other research
Glumbić et al. (2012) saw the same problem with the Serbian CCC-2: the original subscales collapsed and only three new factors could be saved.
Hua et al. (2015) and Takayanagi et al. (2016) both found age-linked weak spots in preschool checklists, so the ToMI-2 flop is part of a wider pattern.
Ke et al. (2020) also warn against using Western norms in non-Western kids; Lee et al. (2023) now add “don’t trust the sub-scores anywhere until age 8.”
Why it matters
If you use the ToMI-2, ignore its printed subscale scores for kids under eight. Treat the total score as a rough language screener only, and pair it with direct tasks or older norms.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The Theory of Mind Inventory-2 (ToMI-2) is a promising measure for assessing theory of mind (ToM) and social-related functions. However, limited evidence on its factorial validity hampers score interpretation. To examine the factorial validity, confirmatory factor analysis for two currently-available structures was performed in 420 typically developing children aged three to seven years. One, the development-based structure, contains three stages of ToM development: the early, basic, and advanced ToM stages. The other, the social-related structure, comprises three social-related ToM functions: emotion recognition, mental state term comprehension, and pragmatics. The results showed that these structures and the unidimensionality of each domain were not supported even after modifications. Thus, further revisions and examinations of the underlying structures of the ToMI-2 are needed.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2023 · doi:10.1038/s41467-019-10083-6