Empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM) undergo major development in preschoolers and help them in their social interactions. This study investigated (1) how affective, cognitive and behavioral empathy are linked with ToM relating to affective and cognitive mental states; and (2) whether subgroups of children could be differentiated according to their skills in these two domains. Mothers of 364 three-to-six-year-old children completed the French version of the Griffith Empathy Measure, Empathy Questionnaire, and Theory of Mind Inventory. The ToM Tasks Battery was also administered to children. A path analysis model showed positive relationships between distinct dimensions of empathy and ToM. Hierarchical cluster analyses identified four subgroups of cases, including one of children at risk of difficulties in empathy and ToM. This study emphasizes the importance of assessing these domains to detect children at risk and refer them to intervention programmes that target the development of these skills.

Keywords: Empathy; preschool; social cognition; theory of mind.

同理心和心智理论（ToM）在学龄前儿童中经历重大发展，帮助他们在社交互动中取得进步。本研究调查了（1）情感、认知和行为同理心与涉及情感和认知心理状态的心智理论之间的联系；以及（2）是否可以根据这些领域的技能将儿童划分为不同的亚组。364名三至六岁儿童的母亲完成了格里菲斯同理心量表、同理心问卷和心智理论调查表的法语版本。还对儿童进行了ToM任务电池测试。路径分析模型显示，不同维度的同理心与心智理论之间存在积极关系。层次聚类分析确定了四个案例亚组，其中包括一个在同理心和心智理论方面可能存在困难风险的儿童群体。本研究强调了评估这些领域的重要性，以便检测有风险的儿童并将他们转介到旨在发展这些技能的干预项目。

关键词： 同理心；学龄前；社会认知；心智理论。