Parental Emotion Regulation and Mentalization in Families of Children With ADHD

Gershy, Naama; Gray, Sarah A. O.

doi:10.1177/1087054718762486

Cited by 23 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 72 publications

(100 reference statements)

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“…Although recent research indicates the importance of mentalization in the ADHD field, both in empirical studies and in parenting interventions, only one study to date has investigated this issue in families of children with ADHD, showing that parental mentalization could act as a buffer against parental hostility (9). Recent research demonstrating the relationship between PRF and parents' capacity to regulate their own emotions in the caregiving context indicates the importance of the meaning parents apply to children's behaviors to determine the emotional/physiological level of arousal the parent experiences in reaction to them (9). Drawing upon these findings and upon studies showing more parenting and familial difficulties among parents of children with ADHD, the second aim of this study was to explore potential PRF impairments in parents of children with ADHD and to compare these impairments with those of a control group of parents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…On the one hand, the demanding, moody and uncooperative behavior described among children with ADHD can represent a parenting challenge and has an impact on parental behavior and adjustment. On the other hand, parenting characteristics and difficulties may exacerbate children's behavioral difficulties and the course of the disorder (9–12).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…It has been hypothesized that the parents' capacity of children with ADHD to think about the mental processes underlying children's expressed emotions and behaviors, enhances their ability to contain the child's emotional and physical needs, leading to improvement in managing the child's distress (32, 33). In a sample of parents of children seeking ADHD treatment, Gershy and Gray (9) found that parents' capacity for mentalization serves as a buffer against parental hostile feelings, specifically among emotionally dysregulated parents. Parents' capacity to use mentalization while describing their child was assessed with mind-mindedness (34), using a single question interview in which parents were asked to describe their child.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, a more cost-effective and less time-consuming new measure to assess parents' capacity for mentalization has been validated. The Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire [PRFQ; (35)] is a brief and multidimensional assessment tool, quite different from mind—mindedness used in the previous study with parents of children with ADHD by Gershy and Gray (9). Studies that have assessed PRF using the PRFQ have shown that a parent's capacity to mentalize may be a critical factor in tolerating an infant's distress, enhancing more positive discipline strategies, and perceiving less parenting stress (33, 36–38).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Parental Reflective Functioning in Mothers and Fathers of Children With ADHD: Issues Regarding Assessment and Implications for Intervention

Mazzeschi

Buratta

Germani

et al. 2019

Front. Public Health

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Parental factors contribute to ADHD, partly in an etiological way and partly as moderators and mediators of child outcomes and treatment effects. An important aspect of parenting seems to be parental reflective functioning (PRF), defined as the parent's capacity to reflect upon his own and his child's internal mental experience. The studies on parenting factors linked to ADHD have not extensively investigated the role of PRF. Recent findings on interventions have begun to consider mentalization to promote empathy and emotion regulation in parents, but empirical studies assessing PRF are still scarce. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to compare specific familial and parental functioning characteristic between parents of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and parents of controls without ADHD. A clinical sample of 41 children with ADHD aged 8–11 years and their parents was compared with a matched, non-clinical sample of 40 children. Three aspects of parental functioning were investigated: parental symptomatology, parental alliances and PRF; children's differences in strength and difficulty profiles were also assessed. The results showed that families of children with ADHD had lower socioeconomic status, and both mothers and fathers of the same families reported higher scores for depression and lower PRF than did the control group; only mothers showed lower parental alliance. Logistic regression highlighted the fact that several of these familial and parental factors contributed to the increased risk of belonging to the clinical group, specifically both mothers' and fathers' depressive symptoms and lower PRF. These data represent new findings with potentially meaningful clinical implications for both assessment and intervention.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Parental Reflective Functioning in Mothers and Fathers of Children With ADHD: Issues Regarding Assessment and Implications for Intervention

Mazzeschi

Buratta

Germani

et al. 2019

Front. Public Health

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“…Specifically, it was shown that mothers with ADHD symptoms have difficulty setting limits and appropriate rules, leading to chaotic home environment and inconsistent discipline (Chen & Johnston, 2007; Mokrova, O'Brien, Calkins, & Keane, 2010). In addition, they were more negative, reactive, or even hostile and they could not respond appropriately to their child's needs for attention (Barkley, Guevremont, Anastopoulos, DuPaul, & Shelton, 1993; Ellis & Nigg, 2009; Gershy & Gray, 2020). Furthermore, it was demonstrated that although mothers with ADHD could find the same number of solutions for their child's behavior problems, the quality and organization was inferior compared to mothers without ADHD (Murray & Johnston, 2006).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Communication between infant boys and their mothers with ADHD symptoms

Karagianni

Papaeliou

Maniadaki

et al. 2020

Infant Mental Health Journal

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This preliminary longitudinal study examined timing features and type of interaction between infant boys and their mothers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms Method: Ten infants and their mothers with ADHD symptoms and 10 control dyads were video recorded at home during free play interactions when infants were 2-, 4-, 6-, and 9-month old. Microanalysis of the video recordings was carried out to assess synchronization, turn-taking, and type of interaction. Infants' temperament was also assessed Results: ADHD dyads showed shorter synchronization at 2 months and shorter duration of Joint Attention. Partial least squares regression analysis revealed that infant's ability for Joint Attention is predicted mainly by duration of maternal behavior as well as by earlier forms of communication, that is, protoconversations. Conclusion: The data from our preliminary study suggest that mothers with ADHD symptoms may have difficulties maintaining their behavior for enough time possibly due to the core symptoms of the disorder, that is, inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. This maternal deficit seems to affect temporal coordination with their infants and maybe the development of more complex forms of interaction. Clinical implications of these findings are also discussed.

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