{"id":{"repo_id":"cambridge","oai_identifier":"oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/371393"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/cambridge/oai:www.repository.cam.ac.uk:1810/371393","repository":{"repo_id":"cambridge","name":"Cambridge University","base_url":"https://api.repository.cam.ac.uk/server/oai/request"},"display":{"title":"Parent-child mutuality in the early school years","abstract":"This thesis aims to contribute to theoretical understanding of the nature and development of parent-child dyadic mutuality during children’s transition to school. Results are presented from two multi-method, multi-informant research projects. The first two studies in this thesis draw on an ESRC-funded longitudinal project, which involved a sample of 260 families from across the UK. The third study in this thesis includes findings from a sister- study, based in Hong Kong and funded by the WEMP Foundation. Each of these projects include parent interviews and questionnaires, remote testing sessions with children, and the Etch-a-Sketch Online (ESO) - a novel online observational tool to assess goal-directed parent-child interactions. A key focus of this dissertation is the role of the child in contributing to the positive quality of the parent-child relationship, indexed by dyadic mutuality. To this end, two socio- cognitive constructs were assessed: executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). In the first empirical chapter, I examined cross-sectional links between EF, ToM, and two aspects of children’s behaviours: autonomy and positivity. The results also indicated substantial levels of dyadic affect contagion; when parental positivity was controlled, executive function (EF) was associated with measures of child autonomy but was unrelated to child positivity. Supporting the validity of our novel remote assessments, between-construct associations closely matched results from in-person studies. The second empirical study built on this longitudinally, focusing on indices of parent and child mentalizing in relation to dyadic mutuality. Here, cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses showed that, for boys (but not girls), variation in ToM at 5 years was a significant predictor of parent-child mutuality at 6 years. Finally, the third study compared the nature and determinants of mutuality in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong (UK and HK). Parental determinants included education and mind-mindedness, as well as parents’ self-reported SES and psychological distress, and mind-mindedness; child determinants included EF and ToM, controlling for child age and gender. Ratings of mutuality were significantly higher for parent-child dyads in the UK than HK. Regression analyses showed site differences in the predictors of mutuality: in the UK, only child ToM contributed to mutuality, while in HK, mutuality was predicted by parent education, child ToM and EF.","abstract_html":"This thesis aims to contribute to theoretical understanding of the nature and development of parent-child dyadic mutuality during children’s transition to school. Results are presented from two multi-method, multi-informant research projects. The first two studies in this thesis draw on an ESRC-funded longitudinal project, which involved a sample of 260 families from across the UK. The third study in this thesis includes findings from a sister- study, based in Hong Kong and funded by the WEMP Foundation. Each of these projects include parent interviews and questionnaires, remote testing sessions with children, and the Etch-a-Sketch Online (ESO) - a novel online observational tool to assess goal-directed parent-child interactions. A key focus of this dissertation is the role of the child in contributing to the positive quality of the parent-child relationship, indexed by dyadic mutuality. To this end, two socio- cognitive constructs were assessed: executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). In the first empirical chapter, I examined cross-sectional links between EF, ToM, and two aspects of children’s behaviours: autonomy and positivity. The results also indicated substantial levels of dyadic affect contagion; when parental positivity was controlled, executive function (EF) was associated with measures of child autonomy but was unrelated to child positivity. Supporting the validity of our novel remote assessments, between-construct associations closely matched results from in-person studies. The second empirical study built on this longitudinally, focusing on indices of parent and child mentalizing in relation to dyadic mutuality. Here, cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses showed that, for boys (but not girls), variation in ToM at 5 years was a significant predictor of parent-child mutuality at 6 years. Finally, the third study compared the nature and determinants of mutuality in the United Kingdom and Hong Kong (UK and HK). Parental determinants included education and mind-mindedness, as well as parents’ self-reported SES and psychological distress, and mind-mindedness; child determinants included EF and ToM, controlling for child age and gender. Ratings of mutuality were significantly higher for parent-child dyads in the UK than HK. Regression analyses showed site differences in the predictors of mutuality: in the UK, only child ToM contributed to mutuality, while in HK, mutuality was predicted by parent education, child ToM and EF.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Heng, Jean Anne"],"institution":"University of Cambridge","degree_name":"Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)","degree_level":"Doctoral","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":["Hughes, Claire"],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-12-08","date_published":"2023-12-08","updated_at":"2026-07-22T22:24:17Z","subjects":["cross-cultural","dyadic mutuality","early school years","social cognition"],"languages":["eng"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/c5161e50-d071-4445-97cd-c5a94c1b19c0/download","https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/"],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.110586","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier.doi"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor.advisor","label":"Advisor","values":["Hughes, Claire"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Heng, Jean Anne"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.issued","label":"Date","values":["2023-12-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher.institution","label":"Dc Publisher Institution","values":["University of Cambridge"]},{"key":"dc:relation.isreferencedby.uri","label":"Dc Relation Isreferencedby URI","values":["https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/371393"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationlevel","label":"Dc Type Qualificationlevel","values":["Doctoral"]},{"key":"dc:type.qualificationname","label":"Dc Type Qualificationname","values":["Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["cross-cultural","dyadic mutuality","early school years","social cognition"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["eng"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/c5161e50-d071-4445-97cd-c5a94c1b19c0/download","https://www.rioxx.net/licenses/all-rights-reserved/"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier.doi","label":"DOI","values":["https://doi.org/10.17863/CAM.110586"]},{"key":"dc:identifier.uri","label":"Identifier URI","values":["https://apollo8-f-pro.lib.cam.ac.uk/bitstreams/d68ecf41-c411-4fae-8f15-007cd0ce45ab/download"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis aims to contribute to theoretical understanding of the nature and development of parent-child dyadic mutuality during children’s transition to school. 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