Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38842365›Full record

ArticleThe British journal of developmental psychology2025

Parents' mental state language and child gender: A scoping review of developmental evidence.

Callyn Farrell, Ellen Sanderson, Aisling Mulvihill, Michael Thai, Virginia Slaughter

Abstract readScoping Review
In one paragraph

Article in The British journal of developmental psychology, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

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.

2 · The registry

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.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors.

Callyn FarrellSchool of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0003-2039-0045
Ellen SandersonSchool of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-5444-9829
Aisling MulvihillSchool of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-5157-5304
Michael ThaiSchool of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0002-8000-9413
Virginia SlaughterSchool of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.ORCID 0000-0001-9315-1497

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Mental state language (MSL) is an important mechanism through which children learn about their social world and place within it. Previous research has suggested that parents may use MSL differently towards children based on their child's gender. However, findings are inconsistent. This scoping review explores the consistency of reported differences in parents' MSL use as a function of children's gender while exploring the methodological variables that may provide insights into these differences. Based on a review of the 27 studies included, 12 found a significant relationship between child gender and parents' MSL, while the remaining did not. The included studies used a range of methodological approaches to elicit MSL. This scoping review allows researchers and practitioners to reflect upon assumptions regarding the associations between child gender and parents' MSL. Further, we call for the use of diverse and informed approaches when studying these associations from a developmental perspective in the future.

Indexed as

Child DevelopmentParentsTheory of MindChildChild, PreschoolFemaleHumansMaleSex Factorschild developmentgender differenceslanguagemental state languageparentsscoping review

Identifiers

PMID38842365
PMCPMC12070136

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

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.