Parental reflective functioning and theory of mind acquisition: A developmental perspective

Nijssens, Liesbet; Luyten, Patrick; Malcorps, Saskia; Vliegen, Nicole; Mayes, Linda C.

doi:10.1111/bjdp.12383

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 83 publications

(96 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…A higher score in this subscale indicates the ability to recognize that children’s feelings, thoughts, and intentions are not always readily apparent; and finally (3) Interest and Curiosity (IC) to assess the interest and curiosity a parent has in their child’s mental states. Adequate PRF is reflected by low PM and medium-to-high CMS and IC [ 58 ]. At T1, a modified Italian version of the PRFQ was administered [ 59 ].…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Parental Reflective Functioning Mediate the Associations between the Maternal Antenatal and Postnatal Bond with the Child in a Community Sample?

Pazzagli

Buratta

Cenci

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Although establishing an affective tie with a child during perinatality is considered one of the most important maternal tasks, little is still known about the mediators of the association between maternal antenatal and postnatal bonding with the infant. This prospective study addresses this gap by evaluating a community sample of 110 Italian women to assess whether maternal pre- and postnatal bonds with the infant are mediated by parental reflective functioning (PRF), as assessed at the third trimester of pregnancy and three months postpartum. Controlling for confounding variables, the hierarchical regression analyses show the maternal prenatal quality of attachment to the fetus as the main predictor of maternal postnatal attachment to the child (β = 0.315; t = 0.2.86; p = 0.005). The mediation analyses show that mothers’ PRF (b = 0.245; SE = 0.119; 95% CI = 0.071, 0.531) explains 39% of the relationship between maternal pre- and postnatal bonding with the child. The findings of this study contribute to research on the association between prenatal and mother-to-infant bonding by additionally investigating the importance of taking into account maternal PRF as a mediating variable. This provides support for the clinical utility of interventions focused on maternal PRF.

show abstract

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Does Parental Reflective Functioning Mediate the Associations between the Maternal Antenatal and Postnatal Bond with the Child in a Community Sample?

Pazzagli

Buratta

Cenci

et al. 2022

IJERPH

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The first dimension, certainty of mental states (“Certainty”) , ranges from the parent being extremely certain about the mental states of the child to an almost complete lack of confidence about child’s mental states. The second dimension, interest and curiosity (“Interest”) in the child’s mental states, refers to the parent’s willingness and interest toward the child’s experience, perspective and mind ( Njissens et al, 2021 ). Very high scores on these dimensions have been suggested to indicate maladaptive hypermentalizing, involving over-interpretating or “knowing” what their child feels or thinks, while medium range scores (especially on Certainty) have been suggested to indicate more adaptive mentalization ( Fonagy and Luyten, (2009) ; Pajulo et al, 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early pathways of maternal mentalization: Associations with child development in the FinnBrain birth cohort study

et al. 2022

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Parental mentalization refers to a parents’ capacity and interest to consider the individual experience and mental state underlying the behaviors of the child. Higher mentalization is considered a key aspect for parental sensitivity in interaction, fostering child’s socioemotional and self-regulatory development. Yet, previous studies have not examined the dynamic pathways through which the maternal mentalization may develop, nor their effects on child development. Thus, in the current person-oriented studies, first, we identify distinct profiles and longitudinal trajectories of maternal mentalization from pregnancy to child’s 2 years of age. Second, we test how the profiles and trajectories associate with children’s internalizing and externalizing problems, social–emotional competence and effortful control at the age of 2 years. Third, we examine how the profiles and trajectories associate with contextual demographic and child related. The substudy was part of the FinnBrain Birth Cohort and included families from general population (n = 2,687). Mothers reported their parental reflective functioning (PRF) at late pregnancy, 6 months and 2 years of child’s age. Both mothers (n = 1,437) and fathers (n = 715) reported the developmental child outcomes at the child’s age of 2 years. Latent Profile Analysis and Latent Transition Analysis were used to identify PRF profiles and trajectories. The results showed decreasing heterogeneity in PRF from pregnancy to child’s age of 6 months and 2 years (i.e., four, three and two latent classes, respectively). Most mothers progressed towards high PRF over time. Second, the profiles and trajectories depicting high PRF associated with child high social–emotional competence at the age of 2 years, yet no clear positive effects were found on child’s problems and effortful control. The group of mixed PRF trajectories showed strongest association with child’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Finally, there were theoretically meaningful associations between the PRF trajectories and both the contextual (e.g., parity) and child related (e.g., infant temperament) factors. This was the first study to explore the early unfolding of maternal mentalization. The results are discussed in relation with the potential mechanisms accounting for child development and with the nature and limitations of self-reported parental mentalization.

show abstract

Theory of Mind and Psychopathology: A Comprehensive Assessment and an Overview of Impairments in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

de la Higuera-González,

Galvez-Merlin,

Rodríguez-Toscano

et al. 2023

Logic, Argumentation &Amp; Reasoning

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Parental reflective functioning and theory of mind acquisition: A developmental perspective

Cited by 10 publications

References 83 publications

Does Parental Reflective Functioning Mediate the Associations between the Maternal Antenatal and Postnatal Bond with the Child in a Community Sample?

Does Parental Reflective Functioning Mediate the Associations between the Maternal Antenatal and Postnatal Bond with the Child in a Community Sample?

Early pathways of maternal mentalization: Associations with child development in the FinnBrain birth cohort study

Theory of Mind and Psychopathology: A Comprehensive Assessment and an Overview of Impairments in Neuropsychiatric Disorders

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About