• Human Ecology Research
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• v.58 no.2
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• pp.131-148
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• 2020

This study examined the dual mediating effects of preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking in the relationship between maternal reflective functioning and preschoolers' higher-order thinking. Participants included 293 preschoolers and their mothers in Daegu city and Gyeongsang province. The mothers completed questionnaires regarding their reflective functioning, preschoolers' executive function, and creative thinking. Teachers completed questionnaires regarding preschoolers' critical thinking and caring thinking. Preschoolers' counterfactual thinking was measured by interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis with SPSS 25.0. Path analysis and bootstrapping were used with AMOS 25.0 program. Also, specific indirect effect were analyzed using AMOS user-defined estimand function. The primary results of this study are as follows. Maternal reflective functioning had an indirect effect on preschoolers' critical thinking and caring thinking through preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking; however, maternal reflective functioning had no indirect effect on preschoolers' creative thinking through preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking. This study revealed that maternal reflective functioning and preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking need to be considered simultaneously to explain the level of preschoolers' higher-order thinking. The results highlight the dual mediating effects of preschoolers' executive function and counterfactual thinking in the relationship between maternal reflective functioning and preschoolers' higher-order thinking.

• Human Ecology Research
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• v.60 no.2
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• pp.177-186
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• 2022

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships among mothers' reflective function, preschoolers' empathy, executive function, caring behaviors. Subjects for this study were 498 preschoolers and their mothers. Mothers' reflective function was assessed by the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire(PRFQ). Preschoolers' empathy was assessed by the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy(QCAE). Preschoolers' executive function was assessed by the Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Functions-Preschool Version(BRIEF-P), and caring behaviors were assessed by the caring behaviors scale(Kim, 2015). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, confirmatory factor analysis(CFA), and structural equation model(SEM) with the SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 23.0 program. The major results of this study were as follows. First, mothers' reflective function showed direct effects on preschoolers' empathy, executive function, and caring behaviors. Second, the preschoolers' empathy and executive function showed direct effects on preschoolers' caring behaviors. Third, preschoolers' empathy mediated the effects of mothers' reflective function on preschoolers' caring behaviors. The findings of this study will contribute to designing intervention programs to improve preschoolers' empathy, executive function, and caring behaviors.