The cross-sectional ToM–achievement association remains significant after controlling for verbal ability, executive functions, non-verbal ability, and SES¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · quant-synthesis r2–r3 · q4 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2026 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q4 i2 For reading comprehension, partial correlations controlling for verbal ability (rVA = .24), executive functions (rEF = .33), and SES (rSES = .28) remained significant. → Lecce 2026 q4 i2 For math, partial correlations controlling for executive functions (rEF = .32), non-verbal ability (rNVA = .26), and SES (rSES = .35) remained significant. → 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 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2

Meta-analysis of partial correlations for reading comprehension (42 effect sizes controlling for verbal ability, 38 for executive functions, 13 for SES). Printed partial effect sizes rVA = .24, rEF = .33 and rSES = .28 all remained significant, and CIs overlapped the zero-order CI.

"After controlling for each covariate, the weighted mean of the concurrent correlation between ToM and reading comprehension remained statistically significant, academic achievement ReadingComprehension: rVA = .24, 95% CI [.19, .30], p < .001; rEF = .33, 95% CI [.29, .40], p < .001; rSES = .28, 95% CI [.18, .37], p < .001."

Lecce 2026 (2)¶

q4 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r3

Meta-analysis of partial correlations for math (20 effect sizes controlling for executive functions, 24 for non-verbal ability, 14 for SES). Printed partial effect sizes rEF = .32, rNVA = .26 and rSES = .35 remained significant, with CIs overlapping the zero-order CI.

"After controlling for these covariates, the weighted mean of the correlation between ToM and math remained statistically significant, Academic Achievement Math: rEF = .32, 95% CI [.24, .40], p < .001; rNVA = .26, 95% CI [.20, .31], p < .001; rSES = .35, 95% CI [.27, .44], p < .001."

Discussion¶

Earlier theory of mind longitudinally predicts later academic achievement (pooled r = .28), largely on zero-order associations — related
Children's theory of mind shows a significant positive cross-sectional association with academic achievement (r = 0.32) — related
Egger's test indicates asymmetry bias in the cross-sectional ToM–achievement evidence base despite a right-skewed p-curve — related
Earlier academic achievement longitudinally predicts later theory of mind (pooled r = .32), based on few studies — related
A combination of sociocognitive variables predicts concurrent academic outcomes at school entry — a broader claim this one bears on

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`tom-achievement-unique-beyond-covariates`
`title`	`The cross-sectional ToM–achievement association remains significant after controlling for verbal ability, executive functions, non-verbal ability, and SES`
`description`	`The cross-sectional ToM–achievement association remains significant after controlling for verbal ability, executive functions, non-verbal ability, and SES`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2026`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-19`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	2 — `lecce-2026`, `lecce-2026-2`

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