Abstract

GOMEZ-TABARES, Anyerson Stiths  and  LANDINEZ-MARTINEZ, Daniel Alfredo. Theory of mind and executive functioning in children: Scientific mapping and literature review using citation network analysis. Psicol. caribe [online]. 2023, vol.40, n.3, pp.1-1.  Epub Jan 15, 2024. ISSN 0123-417X.

Several studies have examined theory of mind (ToM) and executive functioning (EF) in children. However, the findings regarding this association are inconsistent when considering variations in typical and impaired neurodevelopment. This study analyzed the scientific production and empirical evidence on the relationship between ToM and EF performance in children and its incidence in neurotypical development (TD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The document search was done in the Web of Science and bibliometrix, Sci2 Tool and Gephi were used for the analyses. The findings indicate that children with ADHD present lower performance in inhibitory control tasks than children with TD, and children with ASD present a deficit in ToM compared to the other groups. Working memory and inhibitory control predicted the performance of children with ADHD, ASD and TD in false belief tasks. Finally, EF was found to correlate directly with ToM in children with TD. These findings are relevant because they help to better understand the cognitive-social and neuropsychological mechanisms linked to child neurodevelopment.

Keywords : Theory of mind; Executive Function; Childhood Autism; ADHD.

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