title: Siblings, language, and false belief in low-income children.
abstract: The authors examined the relationship between number of siblings and false belief understanding (FBU) in 94 low-income 4-5-year-olds. Previous research with middle-income children has shown a positive association between number of siblings and FBU. However, it is unclear whether having multiple siblings in low-income families is related to better FBU. Language, specifically vocabulary, was examined as a possible mediator between number of siblings and FBU as several researchers have found that language is causally related to FBU. Contrary to research with middle-income preschoolers, the authors found that number of siblings was negatively related to low-income children's FBU. This relationship was mediated by children's vocabulary skill. Suggestions for why the sibling-FB relationship may differ in low- and middle-income samples are offered.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ohio State University at Lima, OH 45804, USA. tompkins.73@osu.edu
authors.forename: Virginia
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Tompkins
authors.forename: M Jeffrey
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Farrar
authors.forename: Ying
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Guo
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007802:Language; D007807:Language Tests; D008297:Male; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology*; D035781:Siblings / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D014825:Vocabulary