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Theory of Mind and Social Informant Discrepancy in Autism.

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Title: Theory of Mind and Social Informant Discrepancy in Autism.
Authors: Collins, Alister S. (AUTHOR), Carroll, Kevin J. (AUTHOR), Gerber, Alan H. (AUTHOR), Keenan, Elliot Gavin (AUTHOR), Lerner, Matthew D. (AUTHOR)
Source: Child Psychiatry & Human Development. Feb2026, Vol. 57 Issue 1, p10-24. 15p.
Subjects: Theory of mind, Autism, Behavioral assessment, Self-evaluation, Social skills, Social perception
Abstract: When autistic youth are asked to assess their own social skills, they frequently rate themselves more favorably than their parents rate them. The magnitude of this informant discrepancy has been shown to relate to key clinical outcomes such as treatment response. It has been proposed that this discrepancy arises from difficulties with Theory of Mind. Participants were 167 youth 11 to 17 years old; 72% male, and their parents. Youth completed self-report measures of social skills and social cognitive tasks, while their parents completed questionnaires regarding social skills. A repeated-measures ANOVA indicated both non-autistic and autistic youth rated themselves more favorably than their parents rated them across all measures. Zero-order correlations revealed that raw differences between parent- and participant-report were negatively correlated with scores on parent-reported Theory of Mind measures. However, polynomial analysis did not indicate interaction effects between parent- and participant-report on any of the measures used. Polynomial regression revealed that increases in parent-reported social skill predicted larger increases in parent-report Theory of Mind at low levels of parent-reported social skill compared to high levels of parent-reported social skill. Participant-report social skills predicted performance on a behavioral Theory of Mind test in a curvilinear fashion, such that the relationship was positive at low levels of participant-reported social skills, but negative at high levels. This study replicates the finding that raw difference score analyses may result in illusory effects that are not supported when using more contemporary analysis methods, and that more complex and subtle relationships between social insight and perspective-taking exist within autistic youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Copyright of Child Psychiatry & Human Development is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
Database: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection
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  Data: Theory of Mind and Social Informant Discrepancy in Autism.
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Collins%2C+Alister+S%2E%22">Collins, Alister S.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Carroll%2C+Kevin+J%2E%22">Carroll, Kevin J.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Gerber%2C+Alan+H%2E%22">Gerber, Alan H.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Keenan%2C+Elliot+Gavin%22">Keenan, Elliot Gavin</searchLink> (AUTHOR)<br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Lerner%2C+Matthew+D%2E%22">Lerner, Matthew D.</searchLink> (AUTHOR)
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  Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Child+Psychiatry+%26+Human+Development%22">Child Psychiatry & Human Development</searchLink>. Feb2026, Vol. 57 Issue 1, p10-24. 15p.
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  Data: When autistic youth are asked to assess their own social skills, they frequently rate themselves more favorably than their parents rate them. The magnitude of this informant discrepancy has been shown to relate to key clinical outcomes such as treatment response. It has been proposed that this discrepancy arises from difficulties with Theory of Mind. Participants were 167 youth 11 to 17 years old; 72% male, and their parents. Youth completed self-report measures of social skills and social cognitive tasks, while their parents completed questionnaires regarding social skills. A repeated-measures ANOVA indicated both non-autistic and autistic youth rated themselves more favorably than their parents rated them across all measures. Zero-order correlations revealed that raw differences between parent- and participant-report were negatively correlated with scores on parent-reported Theory of Mind measures. However, polynomial analysis did not indicate interaction effects between parent- and participant-report on any of the measures used. Polynomial regression revealed that increases in parent-reported social skill predicted larger increases in parent-report Theory of Mind at low levels of parent-reported social skill compared to high levels of parent-reported social skill. Participant-report social skills predicted performance on a behavioral Theory of Mind test in a curvilinear fashion, such that the relationship was positive at low levels of participant-reported social skills, but negative at high levels. This study replicates the finding that raw difference score analyses may result in illusory effects that are not supported when using more contemporary analysis methods, and that more complex and subtle relationships between social insight and perspective-taking exist within autistic youth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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  Data: <i>Copyright of Child Psychiatry & Human Development is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)
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              Text: Feb2026
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