The indirect role of working memory in the association between perspective-taking skills and social problem-solving skills in preschool children: an age-sensitive moderated mediation in a Turkish sample.

Background: Perspective taking, working memory and social problem solving are central to early childhood social and cognitive development, yet they have rarely been examined jointly within a single model. Aim: The present study examined whether the association between three perspective-taking sub-dimensions (cognitive, perceptual, affective) and social problem solving in Turkish preschoolers was indirect, operating through working memory, and whether this indirect association varied with age. Method: A sample of 457 Turkish preschoolers aged 48-72 months (50.3% girls) was recruited from independent preschools and kindergarten classrooms affiliated with primary schools in Bolu. Children completed the Perspective-Taking Test for Children and the Wally Social Problem-Solving Test, and mothers completed the working-memory subscale of the Self-Regulation Skills Scale. Three separate moderated mediation models, one for each perspective-taking sub-dimension, were estimated using PROCESS Model 59 with age group as the moderator of all three paths and 5,000 bootstrap resamples. Results: Indices of moderated mediation were significant in all three models (cognitive 0.60, perceptual 0.52, affective 0.15) and indirect effects through working memory strengthened systematically with age. Conclusion: Perspective taking was indirectly associated with social problem solving through working memory, and this indirect association was stronger in older preschoolers. Because the design is cross-sectional, these patterns are associational and require longitudinal confirmation. The findings are consistent with curricular approaches that address cognitive and social-emotional components together.