Data · dataset · 2026
The link between mind wandering and mood in children
Listed in ZivaHub and Deakin Research Online and DMU Figshare — shown once because both records carry DOI 10.17034/32640378.v1
Mind wandering is an everyday occurrence that involves attention shifting from external tasks to internal thoughts.
Description
Research with adults and adolescents has shown that mind wandering is associated with negative affect and lower psychological wellbeing, especially when the focus is on past events. Only recently have studies emerged that assess if mind wandering in children is also linked to lower mood.
This study aims to contribute to this growing literature by examining the link between mood and the temporal orientation of mind wandering in children aged 8-12 years old. The study recruited 80 children for a developmentally appropriate listening activity interspersed with intermittent thought probes. Self-report and carer reports were collected to assess children's mood and questionnaires were used to capture data on self-reported worry.
Read the rest (1 more)
The findings showed that children mind wandered 23% of the time, with lower mood being significantly associated with increased mind wandering, particularly when thinking about the past. Future-oriented thought was not linked to worry or negative mood. These findings suggest a presence of a relationship between mood and mind wandering in children, emphasising the importance of early intervention to support psychological wellbeing before adolescence.<br><br><i>Thesis is embargoed until 31st December 2026</i>.<br><br>
Links
Where it is published
- DOI doi.org/10.17034/32640378.v1 ↗
DOI / persistent id · from zivahub uct ac za
Catalogue records · 1
- OAI-PMH record api.figshare.com/v2/oai?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_dc&identifier=oai%3Af… ↗
metadata API · from zivahub uct ac za
Topics
Provenance · 3 source records, 8 field assertions
| Source | Key | Last seen | Raw |
|---|---|---|---|
| ZivaHub | oai:figshare.com:article/32640378 | 11 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Deakin Research Online | oai:figshare.com:article/32640378 | 11 d ago | JSON v1 |
| DMU Figshare | oai:figshare.com:article/32640378 | 11 d ago | JSON v1 |
| Field | Assertion | Extractor | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| access_level | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · figshare dmu ac uk | connector:figshare_dmu_ac_uk@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| concepts[field].local:field:earth-environmental | mapping · dro deakin edu au | connector:dro_deakin_edu_au@1.0.0 | |
| description | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | /metadata/dc/description |
| license_text | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| publication_date | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | |
| title | source · zivahub uct ac za | connector:zivahub_uct_ac_za@1.0.0 | /metadata/dc/title |