The Relationship Between Theory of Mind and Social Skills: The Mediated Role of Empathy and Emotion Regulation in Primary School Children

Subject Areas :

Mina Sangnour pour ¹ , zeynab khanjani ² , تورج هاشمی ³

1 - Psychology department- The faculty of education and psychology - The university of Tabriz - Tabriz - Iran
2 - Professor of psychology
3 - دانشگاه تبریز

Received: 2023-06-08 Accepted : 2023-11-26 Published : 2025-02-23

Keywords: emotion regulation, empathy, social skills, theory of mind,

Abstract :

The present study aimed to determine the relationship between theory of mind and social skills mediated by empathy and emotion regulation in primary school children. The study was conducted with a correlational method. The study population was girls in the sixth grade of primary school in Tabriz in 2022. Using random multistage cluster method 375 students were selected and completed Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters (Matson,1983), Theory of Mind Test (Steerneman, 1994), Empathy Questionnaire for Children and Adolescents (Overgaauw, Rieffe, Broekhof, Crone & Güroğlu, 2017) and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Shield & Cicchetti, 1997). Data were an- alyzed using structural equation modeling. Results showed that there was no significant relationship between theory of mind and social skills. There was a positive relationship between theory of mind and empathy and emotion regulation as well as between empathy and emotion regulation with social skills. Empathy and emotion regulation could significantly mediate the relationship between theory of mind and social skills. Hence, the research indicates that social skills can be improved by improving theory of mind and simultaneously improving empathy and emotion regulation Keywords: emotion regulation, empathy, social skills, theory of mind