Early Maternal Reflective Functioning and Infant Emotional Regulation in a Preterm Infant Sample at 6 Months Corrected Age

Heron-Delaney, Michelle; Kenardy, Justin; Brown, E. K.; Jardine, Chloe; Bogossian, Fiona; Neuman, Louise; Dassel, Therese De; Pritchard, Margo

doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsv169

Cited by 42 publications

(29 citation statements)

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“…Esbjørn et al (2013) found that low maternal AAI-RF (and not low paternal AAI-RF) was a predictor of higher levels of anxiety in a sample of clinically anxious school-aged children referred for psychological treatment. Heron-Delaney et al (2016) found that preterm infants of high PDI-RF mothers showed the most negative affects as well as more self-soothing behavior during the Still Face procedure, whereas infants whose mothers were rated lower on PDI-RF exhibited the most negative affects during the reunion-episode. It was argued that maternal reflective functioning might promote emotional self-regulation in the child at the time of distress as well as greater trust in maternal responsiveness.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

“…Three studies (Esbjørn et al, 2013; Heron-Delaney et al, 2016; Smaling et al, 2016b) on child emotion regulation focused on anxiety symptoms in school-aged children, infants’ behavior during the Still Face procedure (Tronick et al, 1978), and infants’ aggressive behavior. Esbjørn et al (2013) found that low maternal AAI-RF (and not low paternal AAI-RF) was a predictor of higher levels of anxiety in a sample of clinically anxious school-aged children referred for psychological treatment.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Low maternal RF was found in mothers whose children suffered from anxiety disorders (Esbjørn et al, 2013), impairment in emotion regulation (Heron-Delaney et al, 2016), and externalizing behaviors (Ensink et al, 2016a; Smaling et al, 2016b). Moreover, higher parental RF was associated with better mentalizing abilities in children (Benbassat and Priel, 2012; Ensink et al, 2015; Rosso et al, 2015; Scopesi et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussion and Direction For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Mentalizing Makes Parenting Work: A Review about Parental Reflective Functioning and Clinical Interventions to Improve It

Camoirano¹

2017

Front. Psychol.

263

213

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In the last decade several studies have investigated the role of parental reflective functioning (RF), defined as the parental ability to understand his/her child’s mental states, on the child’s development. Herein, a narrative review on parental RF is presented aimed at (1) presenting an overview of the existing empirical studies, (2) pinpointing unrequited questions, and (3) identifying future research directions. Specifically, the current review focused on (a) the impact of parental RF on the quality of caregiving and the child’s attachment security, (b) the effect of parental RF on the child’s emotion regulation and the child’s RF, (c) maternal RF in women with a history of neglect and abuse, (d) the efficacy of mentalization-based clinical interventions, and (e) the recently developed Parental Reflective Questionnaire. The following terms “maternal RF,” “paternal RF,” “parental RF,” “parental mentalization,” “maternal mentalization,” and “paternal mentalization” were searched in titles, abstracts, and main texts using Medline, Web of Science, and Scopus databases. Next, a search in Mendeley was also conducted. Inclusion criteria comprised original articles if they refer to the RF Scale (Fonagy et al., 1998) and were published in an English language, peer-reviewed journal before July, 2016. According to exclusion criteria, dissertations, qualitative or theoretical papers, and chapters in books were not taken into account. The review includes 47 studies that, taken together, supported the notion that higher parental RF was associated with adequate caregiving and the child’s attachment security, whereas low maternal RF was found in mothers whose children suffered from anxiety disorders, impairment in emotion regulation, and externalizing behaviors. In addition, higher parental RF was associated with better mentalizing abilities in children. However, unexpected findings have emerged from the most recent randomized controlled trials that tested the efficacy of mentalization-based interventions in high risk samples of mothers, raising questions about the suitability of the verbal measures in capturing the mentalizing processes at the root of the parental capacity to be adequately responsive to the child’s emotional needs.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 89%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion and Direction For Future Researchmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Mentalizing Makes Parenting Work: A Review about Parental Reflective Functioning and Clinical Interventions to Improve It

Camoirano¹

2017

Front. Psychol.

263

213

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…This ability is referred to as mentalization or reflective functioning (RF) [Fonagy, 1991;Fonagy, Gergely, Jurist, & Target, 2006]. There is mounting evidence that high parental mentalization is associated with higher quality caregiving, attachment security, and successful ER while low parental mentalization is related to impairment in emotional regulation and externalizing behaviors in children [Ensink, Bégin, Normandin, & Fonagy, 2016;Heron-Delaney et al, 2016;Smaling et al, 2016]. Mentalization may play a particularly important role in families of individuals with ASD, as parents have to work harder than others to understand their children's thoughts and intentions, as they have to understand and make sense of what seems to be incomprehensible behavior, often in the absence of a positive response from the child [Slade, 2009].…”

Section: Mentalization and Ermentioning

confidence: 99%

A non randomized mentalization intervention for parents of children with autism

et al. 2019

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Parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report higher levels of stress and other negative affective states than parents of typically developing children. One important resource in managing these heightened levels of negative affect is emotion regulation, which in turn depends upon the ability to recognize and understand one's own and others' mental states (referred to as mentalization or reflective functioning). In this study, parents of children with ASD either participated in a mentalization‐based group intervention (N = 36) or a delayed treatment (N = 28). Compared to delayed treatment participants, parents in the mentalization‐based group had increases in reflective functioning and in the belief that emotions can change. Moreover, they reported decreased behavioral and emotional symptoms in their children, and greater parental self‐efficacy. These preliminary findings support previous studies, which have shown that mentalization‐based interventions for parents lead to positive outcomes, and suggest that these findings may apply to a diverse population of parents such as those of children with broader autism phenotype or children with different neurological disorders. Further studies to evaluate the effects of the intervention are recommended. Autism Res 2019, 12: 1077–1086. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Lay Summary In this study, parents of children with ASD participated in a group intervention designed to increase their awareness of mental states (their own and their children's) and to enhance their emotion regulation. Compared to delayed treatment parents, those in the intervention group showed increased awareness of developmental states, and reported increased belief that emotions can change and decreased levels of behavioral and emotional symptoms in their children.

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“…Furthermore, early parent–child interactions enhance childrens’ ability to manage their own emotions by communicating them instead of impulsively acting on them. Such management of emotions is useful for children to differentiate their own emotions from those of others and for predicting others’ intentions (Heron‐Delaney et al., ; Rutherford, Goldberg, Luyten, Bridgett, & Mayes, ; Slade et al., 2005). However, when early parent–child interactions are missing or disrupted, and parents are lacking or hostile in mentalizing ability, their children also have a poor ability to differentiate and modulate their emotions, differentiate their emotions from those of others, and develop a coherent sense of agency.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of maternal reflective functioning on mothers’ and children's weight: A follow‐up study

Campora

Giromini

Guerriero

et al. 2019

Infant Mental Health Journal

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Based on cross-sectional research linking poor reflective functionining (RF) to eating disorders, the current follow-up study tested whether maternal RF would explain the variance of mothers' and children's weight beyond the effects of maternal emotional dysregulation. During pregnancy (Time 1 [T1]), 51 women were administered the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) and interviewed using the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Seven months after delivery (Time 2 [T2]), motherbaby dyads who remained in the study (n = 44) were videotaped (Feeding Scale) during their feeding interaction. Last (Time 3 [T3]), the weight of the 34 children who were still in the study was collected at 3 years of age. Maternal AAI-RF at T1 did not correlate with the DERS at T1 nor with the quality of the feeding interacions at T2. However, it correlated, significantly, with maternal body mass index (BMI) at T1, r = −.298, P = .034, and marginally significantly with baby's BMI at T3, r = −.296, P = .089. Moreover, multiple regression models showed a trend indicating that maternal AAI-RF might explain the variance of mothers' and children's weight beyond the effects of maternal emotional dysregulation. These findings suggest that working on maternal mentalization might contribute to helping prevent childhood obesity from pregnancy. K E Y W O R D Sfeeding interactions, mother-baby interations, obesity, reflective function RESUMEN Objetivo: con base en la investigación de naturaleza transversal que conecta el pobre funcionamiento con reflexión (RF) con los trastornos de alimentación, el presente estudio de seguimiento examinó si el RF materno podría explicar la variación del peso de las madres y de los niños más allá de los efectos de la desregulación emocional materna.Método: durante el embarazo (T1), a 51 mujeres se les administró la Escala de Regulación de las Dificultades en la Emoción (DERS) y se les entrevistó usando la Entrevista de la Afectividad Adulta (AAI). Siete meses después del parto (T2), las díadas mamá-bebé que permanecían en el estudio (n = 44) fueron grabadas en video (Escala de Alimentación) durante su interacción de alimentación. Por último (T3), se determinó el peso de los 34 niños que aún estaban en el estudio a los tres años de edad.Resultados: la información materna de AAI-RF al T1 no se correlacionó con DERS al T1, ni tampoco con la calidad de las interacciones de alimentación al T2. Sin embargo, sí se correlacionó, significativamente, con BMI materno al T1 (r = −.298, p = .034), y marginalmente significativo, con el BMI del bebé al T3 (r = −.296, p = .089). Es más, los modelos de regresión múltiple mostraron una tendencia indicando que la AAI-RF materna pudiera explicar la variación del peso de las madres y de los niños más allá de los efectos de la desregulación emocional materna.Conclusiones: estos resultados sugieren que trabajar en la mentalización materna pudiera contribuir a ayudar a prevenir la obesidad en la niñez desde el embarazo. PA L A B R A S C L AV E Sfunción de reflexión, obesidad, interacc...

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Early Maternal Reflective Functioning and Infant Emotional Regulation in a Preterm Infant Sample at 6 Months Corrected Age

Abstract: Maternal RF was associated with infants' self-regulating behavior, providing preliminary evidence for the regulatory role of maternal RF in preterm infants' emotion regulation capacity.

Cited by 42 publications

References 50 publications

Mentalizing Makes Parenting Work: A Review about Parental Reflective Functioning and Clinical Interventions to Improve It

Mentalizing Makes Parenting Work: A Review about Parental Reflective Functioning and Clinical Interventions to Improve It

A non randomized mentalization intervention for parents of children with autism

Influence of maternal reflective functioning on mothers’ and children's weight: A follow‐up study

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