Design, development, and pilot study of a scale for educational professionals to assess theory of mind-related skills regarding children with ASD

Abstract

Background Theory of mind (ToM) is a socio-cognitive capacity that enables individuals to attribute mental states to themselves and others and is increasingly recognized as relevant in educational settings, particularly when working with students diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, most empirical work on ToM has focused on clinical populations, and little is known about how ToM-related skills are structured among education professionals. This article addresses this gap by developing and conducting a preliminary psychometric evaluation of a self-report instrument designed to assess ToM-related skills in professionals working with children diagnosed with ASD in school settings implementing inclusion-related policies. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted with 291 professionals from Chilean schools implementing inclusion-related policies. Participants completed a newly developed self-report questionnaire. Due to institutional participation rates, the final sample was classified as a convenience sample. An exploratory factor analysis (EFA) using maximum likelihood extraction and varimax rotation was conducted to examine the latent structure of the instrument. Sampling adequacy was supported by a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) coefficient of 0.91. Internal consistency was assessed using Cronbach’s alpha coefficients. Results The EFA yielded a 35-item solution grouped into five factors, organized into two broad domains: “Identification of others’ mental states” (interpersonal dimension) and “Identification of one’s own mental states” (intrapersonal dimension). The interpersonal dimension emerged as a single factor encompassing emotion recognition, making inferences, and empathic response. The intrapersonal dimension was represented by four factors: awareness of one’s own thoughts and emotions, reflective ability, planning ability, and emotion regulation ability. All factors showed high internal consistency (Cronbach’s alpha > 0.8). Conclusions This study provides preliminary evidence of the internal structure and reliability of a new self-report instrument assessing ToM-related skills in education professionals working with students diagnosed with ASD. Further validation in larger and more diverse samples is required before the instrument can be used to examine associations with classroom processes or other outcomes.