Exploring Advanced Theory of Mind Development Across Sociocultural Contexts: An Evaluation of the Strange Stories in Children From Mexico and US–Mexico Border Communities

Abstract

Recent research on advanced theory of mind (ToM) has questioned the extent to which existing ToM measures capture a single construct, particularly for groups understudied in developmental research. The present study examined the factor structure of one of the most commonly used advanced ToM measures, the Strange Stories task, in samples of low- and middle-income children in dual-language Spanish-English schools in US–Mexico border communities and in Mexico (N = 237 children, n = 108 male, n = 129 female, M_age = 10.05 years, SD = 1.15 years; 96.3% Hispanic/Latine). No clear factor structure emerged for the Strange Stories in the full sample. Comparing across sociocultural contexts, item scores and inter-item relations showed distinct patterns even when comparing low- and middle-SES schools within the same community. These findings have implications both for ToM assessment broadly and for mapping the interplay between sociocultural contexts and advanced ToM.