This study examines the relationship between Theory of Mind (ToM) and internalizing symptoms in middle childhood and early adolescence. This developmental period has been largely neglected by ToM researchers, even though internalizing symptoms typically emerge and become stable at this age. In a sample of 318 (157 girls) school-aged children, we found that a high ToM performance is significantly associated with low depressive symptoms and low symptoms of panic disorder and separation anxiety. Further analyses revealed that problem-solving abilities mediate the relationship between ToM and depressive symptoms. Moreover, problem-solving abilities also mediate the relationship between ToM and separation anxiety symptoms, in boys only. The present findings suggest that depressive and separation anxiety symptoms in middle childhood and early adolescence might derive from a complex interaction between ToM abilities and coping strategies.

An interesting association between sociocognitive understanding and depression has been documented in clinical populations, with high levels of depression apparently related to theory-of-mind deficits. Yet no research has so far investigated this relationship among typically developing preadolescents. Therefore, the authors' main aim was to extend previous findings to the general population and to a younger age group. A secondary aim was to explore the role of feelings of loneliness referring to the previous link. A sociocognitive understanding task followed by self-report questionnaires on depressive symptoms and perceived loneliness were administered to a sample of 326 students attending primary and middle schools. Mediation analyses revealed that feelings of loneliness mediated the effect of sociocognitive understanding on depressive symptoms, but only among girls. In boys, depressive symptoms were directly linked to sociocognitive skills. In girls, on the contrary, the relationship between sociocognitive skills and depressive symptoms was significantly mediated by feelings of loneliness. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

Physical maltreatment is a public health issue affecting millions of children in their lifetime, with a high risk of recurrency. Although there are several parenting programs (PPs) available, existing reviews on their effectiveness in preventing physical abuse recurrences have many limitations. The current systematic review aims at (1) providing a summary of evidence on the effectiveness of behavioral/cognitive–behavioral PPs in preventing physical re-abuse; (2) extending previous reviews by including reduction of child maltreatment recurrence as the main outcome but also focusing on the effect of PPs on maltreatment risk, parent and child psychopathology, and parent–child relationship; and (3) including only RCT with at least one follow-up. A PRISMA-compliant systematic review was performed in the EBSCOhost and PUBMED databases. In total, 93 articles were identified, of which 8 were included in the review. Among them, three reported a significant reduction in recidivism rates and maltreatment risk, and five improvements in parent–child relationships. Although limitations arise from methodological heterogeneity across studies, there is some evidence that some brief and manualized cognitive behavioral PPs can reduce the recurrence of child physical maltreatment and improve parent–child relationships. More studies are needed to give further support to PP effectiveness in protecting children from recurrent maltreatment.

Robust findings have highlighted the importance of early cognitive abilities for academic performance. However, little is known about the role played by relational variables. In this longitudinal study, we examined children’s relationship with their mothers and teachers as predictors of later academic achievement. We addressed this issue following a group of 45 Italian children (29 boys) from the last year of preschool (mean age: five years and six months) until Year 4 of primary school (mean age: nine years and six months). Results showed that mother–child relationship at age 5 and teacher–child relationship at age 7 correlate with children’s academic achievement at age 9, controlling for early background and verbal abilities. Further analyses showed that teacher–child conflict partially mediates the relationship between early mother–child conflict and children’s later academic achievement. Mechanisms by which relational variables influence learning outcomes are discussed.