ArticleBMC psychology2024
The relationship between theory of mind and moral sensitivity among Chinese preschool children: the mediating role of empathy.
Article in BMC psychology, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 4 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
4 citing papers in PubMed.
- The relationship between parent-child relationship and prosocial behavior among Chinese children: the mediating roles of labor participation and sense of social responsibility.Frontiers in psychology · 2026Article
- The level of moral sensitivity among nurses: a systematic review and meta-analysis.BMC nursing · 2025Article
- The Nexus of Emotional Intelligence, Empathy, and Moral Sensitivity: Enhancing Ethical Nursing Practices in Clinical Settings.Journal of nursing management · 2025Article
- Social Influences on Early Fairness Expectations in Toddlers: Siblings, Peers, and Caregivers.Infancy : the official journal of the International Society on Infant StudiesArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundIdentifying moral behavior in complex situations is the key ability for children to develop prosocial behavior. The theory of mind (ToM) and empathy provide the cognition and emotional motivation required for the development of moral sensitivity. In this study, we investigated the associations among ToM, empathy, and moral sensitivity and explored the possible differences between Chinese preschool children aged 4 and 5 years.
methodsOne hundred and thirty children completed the unexpected-content and change-of-location tasks as well as questionnaires about empathy and moral sensitivity individually. A one-way analysis of variance and the multi-group mediation SEM were used to examine the associations of the three variables and age differences.
resultsThe scores of 5-year-old children in the dimensions of care, fairness, authority, and sanctity and the total score were higher than those of 4-year-old children. Moral sensitivity was positively correlated with both ToM and empathy after we controlled for verbal IQ and gender. Multigroup mediation analyses showed age-based differences in the associations among moral sensitivity, ToM, and empathy. Empathy's mediation effect was partial among 4-year-old children and complete among 5-year-old children.
conclusionsThese findings contribute to understanding the cognitive and emotional factors in the formation of children's moral sensitivity. They also point to a promising approach to promoting the development of moral sensitivity and evidence for educators to understand the process of children's socialization.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.