Psychometric evaluation of the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire in Polish mothers

Abstract

Parental reflective functioning (PRF) refers to a parent’s capacity to reflect on and understand the inner mental states of their child, their own mental states with regard to their child, and how these mental states may influence their behavior and interactions. This capacity has been shown to foster secure attachment in children and their socio-emotional development. The present study examined the psychometric properties of the Polish translation of the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ), a brief screening measure of PRF, in a large community sample of Polish mothers of children aged 0–5 years (N = 979). Confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized three-factor structure of the PRFQ, which consists of three subscales: prementalizing modes, certainty about mental states, and interest and curiosity in mental states. However, item loadings suggested that the 15-item version fitted the data better than the original 18-item version. These three PRFQ subscales exhibited satisfactory and moderate six-month test–retest reliability. They also correlated in theoretically expected ways with several criterion measures such as maternal attachment, maternal parenting stress, parental role restriction, depression severity, and borderline symptoms. In conclusion, this study is the first to provide preliminary evidence for the reliability and validity of the PRFQ as a measure of parental reflective functioning in Polish mothers.