Abstract
This study investigated the impact of maternal reflective functioning (RF) and attachment security on children’s mentalization. The Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was administered to mothers in a sample of 41 mother–preadolescent dyads. AAI transcripts were rated in terms of the Berkeley AAI System (Main and Goldwyn, 1998) and the Reflective Functioning Scale (RFS; Fonagy et al., 1998). Preadolescent mentalization was assessed using a semi-structured interview adapted from O’Connor and Hirsch (1999) and also by analyzing mental-state talk produced during an autobiographical interview. Relationships between maternal RF and children’s mentalization were analyzed, with consideration given to the different RFS markers and references to positive, negative, and mixed-ambivalent mental states. Children’s mentalization was positively correlated with the mother’s RF, particularly the mother’s ability to mentalize negative or mixed-ambivalent mental states. No significant differences in mentalization were observed between children of secure and insecure mothers.
Highlights
The present study focuses on the relationship of the mother’s reflective functioning (RF) and her attachment security with her preadolescent children’s ability to mentalize.Mentalizing refers to the capacity to perceive and understand oneself and others in terms of mental states as well as the ability to reason about one’s own and others’ behavior in terms of mental states (Fonagy et al, 1998).Fonagy et al (1998) introduced the concept of mentalization, operationalized as RF in the wake of studies conducted on the “theory of mind” (ToM) within the domain of cognitive psychology (e.g., Leslie, 1987; Perner, 1991)
In the Attachment Interview (AAI) protocol, some questions require a RF (e.g., “Why do you think your parents behaved as they did during your childhood?”), while others merely permit it (e.g., “Could you describe your first separation from your parents?”)
Because of the small number of mothers classified as Dismissive, Preoccupied, Cannot Classify, and Unresolved, these groups were combined into a single insecure group
Summary
The present study focuses on the relationship of the mother’s reflective functioning (RF) and her attachment security with her preadolescent children’s ability to mentalize.Mentalizing refers to the capacity to perceive and understand oneself and others in terms of mental states (feelings, beliefs, intentions, and desires) as well as the ability to reason about one’s own and others’ behavior in terms of mental states (Fonagy et al, 1998).Fonagy et al (1998) introduced the concept of mentalization, operationalized as RF in the wake of studies conducted on the “theory of mind” (ToM) within the domain of cognitive psychology (e.g., Leslie, 1987; Perner, 1991). His research and theoretical assumptions focused mainly on the development of mentalization and individual differences, expanding the concept beyond false beliefs, autism, and childhood (e.g., Baron-Cohen et al, 1985; Perner et al, 1989). According to Fonagy et al (1998), mentalization is necessary for good social adjustment because it allows one to represent causal mental states, discriminate internal, and external realities, infer other’s mental states from behavioral and contextual clues and regulate behavior and emotional experience. In this perspective, mentalization is a protective factor for the individual and one’s social development.
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