Prior literature demonstrates a reliable progression of ToM development during early childhood; however, cross-cultural studies have found a different progression of ToM development, and few studies have investigated whether this progression is generalizable to children in poverty. The current study examined ToM development in 106 3- to 5-year-old children enrolled in urban, low-income preschool programs in the U.S. Children completed a 5-task ToM battery. Parents provided family demographic information. Results demonstrated that economically disadvantaged preschool children do not develop ToM capacities in the same sequence as their affluent peers. Comparisons were then made with six samples reported in previous studies; children here showed a difference in age of mastery for some, but not all, aspects of ToM, compared with affluent U.S. children, and moreover show greater similarity with low-income children worldwide. These findings add to our understanding of specific environmental influences on ToM development in early childhood.

先前的文献证明了儿童早期 ToM 发展的可靠进展；然而，跨文化研究发现了 ToM 发展的不同进展，并且很少有研究调查这种进展是否适用于贫困儿童。目前的研究检查了美国城市低收入学前班 106 名 3 至 5 岁儿童的 ToM 发展情况 儿童完成了 5 项 ToM 电池。父母提供了家庭人口统计信息。结果表明，经济上处于不利地位的学龄前儿童不会像富裕的同龄人那样按照相同的顺序发展 ToM 能力。然后与先前研究中报告的六个样本进行比较；与富裕的美国儿童相比，这里的儿童在 ToM 的某些方面（但不是全部）掌握的年龄有所不同，并且与世界范围内的低收入儿童表现出更大的相似性。这些发现增加了我们对特定环境对儿童早期 ToM 发展影响的理解。