Longitudinally, the ToM–achievement association does not differ significantly across academic achievement domains, and time lag does not moderate it¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesis r3 · q4 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q4 i? The academic achievement domain moderator was not significant in the longitudinal early-ToM-to-later-achievement model, F(2,58) = 2.54, p = .088. → Lecce 2026 q4 i2 Within-domain longitudinal correlations were significant: reading r = .218, math r = .299, academic performance r = .322. → Lecce 2026 (2)

Evidence¶

Lecce 2026¶

Lecce, S., Stagnitto, S. M., Mascheretti, S., Lampis, V., & Devine, R. T. (2026). Children's Theory of Mind and Academic Achievement: a Meta-analysis on Reading Comprehension and Math Skills. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10185-w

q4 · i? · quant-synthesis · r?

Moderator test over all 61 longitudinal effect sizes (21 reading, 19 math, 21 academic performance) in the early-ToM-to-later-achievement meta-analysis. The domain moderator was not significant, "F(2,58) = 2.54, p = .088"; no effect size is printed for the moderator test.

"The test of moderator for academic achievement domain was not significant, F(2,58) = 2.54, p = .088, suggesting that the strength of the association between ToM and academic achievement was not different when comparing different academic achievement domain."

Lecce 2026 (2)¶

Lecce, S., Stagnitto, S. M., Mascheretti, S., Lampis, V., & Devine, R. T. (2026). Children's Theory of Mind and Academic Achievement: a Meta-analysis on Reading Comprehension and Math Skills. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-026-10185-w

q4 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r3

Post-hoc tests in the longitudinal meta-analysis showed significant pooled correlations in each domain, each a small-to-medium printed effect size: reading comprehension r = .218, math r = .299, general academic performance r = .322, all p < .001.

"Post-hoc tests showed that the association between ToM and academic achievement was significant for all the three academic achievement domains, rToM-ReadingComprehension = .218, 95% CI [.14, .29], p < .001 (Supplementary Material—Figure SM4); rToM-Math = .299, 95% CI [.22, .37], p < .001 (Supplementary Material—Figure S M5); rToM-AcademicPerformance = .322, 95% CI [.24, .40], p < .001 (Supplementary Material—Figure S M6)."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Earlier theory of mind longitudinally predicts later academic achievement (pooled r = .28), largely on zero-order associations — related
• The ToM–achievement association does not differ significantly across reading comprehension, math, and general academic performance domains — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Children's theory of mind shows a significant positive cross-sectional association with academic achievement (r = 0.32) — related
• Earlier academic achievement longitudinally predicts later theory of mind (pooled r = .32), based on few studies — related
• Review findings are consistent across study design features; no moderator showed meaningful relationships — related