Callyn Farrell

Adults' mental state language (MSL), referring to and labelling cognitions, emotions and desires, is regarded as a key input to children's social‐cognitive development. The Maternal Mental State Input Inventory (MMSII) offers a vignette‐based approach to investigating adults' preferences for using MSL and elaborated language. This scoping review maps how the MMSII and its derivatives have been implemented across populations and contexts, catalogues adaptations, translations and administration formats and synthesizes findings related to child outcomes. Fifteen sources, representing 20 studies, met inclusion criteria. Participants were predominantly White, English‐speaking mothers from Australia. Child data were available in 15 studies, primarily focusing on the preschool years. Across child‐inclusive studies, parents' MMSII scores showed more significant than null associations with children's theory of mind. Collectively, the findings demonstrate the MMSII's adaptability and feasibility as a measure for assessing adults' MSL and elaborated language preferences.

Children's exposure to mental state language (MSL) has implications for their social, emotional and cognitive developmental outcomes. Although parental MSL is found to vary as a function of child gender, gender differences in children's MSL exposure are yet to be considered in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) context. This study examined whether changes in the gender composition of child‐groups were associated with educators’ use of MSL during centre‐scheduled playtime within toddler classrooms. All educator utterances directed to children were transcribed and coded for MSL. Each instance of a mental state term was counted and classified as perception, desire, emotion, or cognition. We analysed educators’ MSL content types across 182 interactional episodes with 13 educators. Results indicated that educators used more perception terms when the proportion of boys increased, and more desire terms when the proportion of girls increased. No significant associations were found for emotion, cognition, or overall MSL. Considering the developmental trajectory and functionality of children's exposure to MSL content subtypes, these findings suggest that educators systematically change their language so that girls receive developmentally more advanced MSL content than boys at the same age. Given the established role of MSL in children's social‐emotional and cognitive outcomes, these findings have implications for ECEC policy and educator training. Addressing gender‐related variation in children's MSL exposure may help ensure equitable opportunity for language‐mediated development in early childhood settings.

Children's gender socialisation begins from a young age and one socialisation context used to provide gender‐based information is toy play. Adults play a key role in prescribing children's toys; however, the factors that motivate adults to consider toys as gender‐typed for boys or girls require further investigation. We investigated predictors of gender‐typing of children's toys by women and men, both parents and non‐parents. In this study, 1200 adult participants (562 parents, 638 non‐parents, 603 women, 597 men) reported their gender‐typing of children's toys, gender essentialist beliefs, social role attitudes and retrospective experiences with toys as a child. Results revealed that parental experience, gender essentialist beliefs, gender role attitudes and retrospective toy experiences demonstrated reliable associations with both women's and men's tendency to gender‐type children's toys.

Children's gender socialisation begins before birth, as parents form gendered expectations and prepare environments that anticipate a child's gender, and gender‐typed toys are a prominent tool in this process. Adults consistently demonstrate gendered patterns in how they prescribe toys to children, but it remains unclear whether these are driven more by the child's assigned sex or their gender expression. In this study, 1200 Australian adults (562 parents, 638 non‐parents; 603 women, 597 men) prescribed toys to child protagonists depicted as either female or male and as feminine or masculine in their gender expression. Significant differences emerged: adults were more likely to prescribe feminine toys to girls and feminine‐presenting children, and masculine toys to boys and masculine‐presenting children. While both factors influenced responses, the child's assigned sex had a stronger effect than gender expression. These patterns also varied by the gender of the adult participant. Our findings offer novel insights into how adults contribute to children's gender socialisation through toy prescriptions.

Children's gender identity is typically assessed using binary, categorical measures, limiting the ability to capture individual differences or diversity. The Gender Spectrum Task offers a continuous, developmentally appropriate single‐item measure for assessing children's gender identity from 3years of age. This study extends its use to a dyadic format by examining mother‐child alignment on the measure. Australian mother‐child dyads ( N = 107; children aged 3‐ to 6‐years‐old) each completed the Gender Spectrum Task. Children used the full range of the measure, with meaningful variation observed across assumed gender categories. Mothers’ ratings showed strong alignment with children's self‐reports, although discrepancies were greater when children's self‐reported identities were less closely aligned with the binary ends of the measure. Further, when children's identities were less closely aligned with the binary ends, mothers with stronger gender essentialist beliefs perceived their child's identity as more binary‐aligned. Findings suggest the measure is suitable for young children and offers promise for assessing shared understandings of gender identity within families. This work supports the broader application of inclusive, child‐centred measurement tools in developmental science.

Objectives: Participation in organised extracurricular social activities (OESAs) can provide wide‐ranging positive developmental benefits for children. This study investigated whether participation and experiences differ for children aged 4‐ to 12‐years with a developmental language disorder (DLD) compared to their typical language developing (TLD) peers. Methods: Parents of children with DLD (n = 18) and those of TLD peers (n = 21) reflected on their child's participation and experiences in OESAs. Results: Results demonstrated that parents of children with DLD reported engagement in a similar number of OESAs and for a similar length of time on a weekly basis compared to parents of TLD children. Additionally, when evaluating factors that facilitated positive participation experiences— such as their child's abilities and behaviour, features of the OESA, and the social environment —parents of children with DLD provided ratings mostly comparable to those of TLD parents. However, when children disengaged from an OESA, ability‐related factors, such as communication, motor, and social skills, were more likely to be reported to influence the participation experience for children with DLD. Conclusions: These findings underscore the importance of fostering accessible and positive OESA experiences to support meaningful participation and access to the developmental benefits of OESAs for children with DLD. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: What is already known on this subject Children with developmental disabilities often experience reduced participation in organised extracurricular social activities (OESAs), limiting their access to important developmental opportunities. For children with developmental language disorder (DLD), research has focused primarily on academic challenges, with limited understanding of their participation and experiences in non‐academic, socially orientated activities. Previous studies have generally assumed participation barriers dominate the experiences of children with disabilities, potentially overlooking strengths, facilitators, and positive developmental contexts like OESAs. What this study adds to existing knowledge This study provides the first comprehensive comparison of OESA participation and experiences between children with DLD and their typically developing peers. Findings suggest that children with DLD participate at similar rates, intensities, and breadths and generally have positive experiences. Ability‐related factors such as communication and motor skills influenced disengagement but did not preclude participation. By applying a biopsychosocial framework, this study moves beyond a deficit‐based view and highlights the potential for inclusive OESA environments to support social development for children with DLD. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this study? OESAs offer developmentally rich contexts that may support social engagement and psychosocial well‐being for children with DLD. Clinicians and educators should encourage participation in OESAs while being mindful of subtle ability‐related challenges that may affect sustained engagement. Targeted support strategies—such as facilitating beginner‐friendly entry points and fostering inclusive peer environments — could optimise participation. These findings highlight the importance of advocating for accessible, socially supportive community programmes as part of holistic developmental support plans for children with DLD.

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Mental state language (MSL) is an important mechanism through which children learn about their social world and place within it. Previous research has suggested that parents may use MSL differently towards children based on their child's gender. However, findings are inconsistent. This scoping review explores the consistency of reported differences in parents' MSL use as a function of children's gender while exploring the methodological variables that may provide insights into these differences. Based on a review of the 27 studies included, 12 found a significant relationship between child gender and parents' MSL, while the remaining did not. The included studies used a range of methodological approaches to elicit MSL. This scoping review allows researchers and practitioners to reflect upon assumptions regarding the associations between child gender and parents' MSL. Further, we call for the use of diverse and informed approaches when studying these associations from a developmental perspective in the future.

Participation in Organised Extracurricular Social Activities (OESA) can provide positive outcomes for children. This study investigated whether children aged 4 to 12 years diagnosed with autism differ in their OESA participation and experience compared to neurotypical peers. Parents of autistic children (n = 35) and those of neurotypical peers (n = 171) responded to questions that asked them to reflect on their child’s participation and experiences in OESAs. Parents of autistic children reported significantly less OESA participation compared to parents of neurotypical children. Additionally, when evaluating factors that facilitated OESA participation, parents of autistic children rated their child’s individual abilities and behaviour, the OESA’s features, and the social environment less positively, compared to parents of neurotypical children. OESA participation and experiences differ for autistic and neurotypical children. This study identifies factors that can be adjusted to mitigate this difference.