According to a new study that was published this week in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Alex Desatnik of University College London, U.K., and colleagues, the ability to reflect on one’s own mental state as well as that of others continues to develop throughout adolescence. The mentalizing scores vary according to gender and personality traits.
During adolescence, the human brain undergoes a number of significant changes, particularly in the “social brain” regions involved in social cognition. Mentalizing—the capacity to reflect on one’s own mental states as well as those of others—is one of the key constructs that captures multiple facets of social cognition. A personal capacity to recognize connections between one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions is referred to as psychological mindedness, which is a concept that overlaps in some ways.
The new study used data from 432 young adults between the ages of 14 and 30 recruited from two universities and two independent schools to analyze. The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, which is frequently used to measure mentalizing, the Psychological Mindedness Scale, which measures mindedness, and the Ten-Item Personality Inventory were all part of the questionnaire that was completed by the participants.
“Our new study sheds light on the continuous development of social understanding from the age of 14 into our twenties, as well as associated gender differences, with implications for mental health and education.”
Alex Desatnik of University College London,
The researchers discovered that mentalizing scores rose slowly over time and reached their highest point in young adulthood. Females consistently had higher mentalizing scores than males across all age groups. Scores for females increased most significantly between the ages of 17–18 and 20+ (effect size d = 1.07, 95 percent CI 1.52–.62). Scores for males increased between the ages of 14 and 15–16 (d = 0.45, 95 percent CI 0.82–.07) and between the ages of 17–18 and 20+ (d = 0.6, 95 percent CI 1.08–0.1). Psychological-mindedness scores increased in a manner that was analogous to previous years. Mentalizing was found to be positively correlated with the personality traits agreeableness, openness to experience, and conscientiousness.
The authors come to the conclusion that during adolescence and early adulthood, mentalizing and psychological mindedness capacities develop in accordance with developmental changes. In addition, the data suggest that age, gender, and personality traits should all be taken into account when creating a comprehensive picture of adolescent social-cognitive development.
The creators add, “Our new examination reveals insight into the persistent advancement of social comprehension from age 14 very much into our 20s and related distinctions in sexual orientation, with influences for psychological well-being and schooling.”
More information: Desatnik A, Bird A, Shmueli A, Venger I, Fonagy P, The mindful trajectory: Developmental changes in mentalizing throughout adolescence and young adulthood, PLOS ONE (2023). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286500. journals.plos.org/plosone/arti … journal.pone.0286500
