Reflective functioning moderates the association between perceptions of parental neglect and attachment in adolescence.

Abstract

Preliminary evidence suggests that reflective functioning (RF), or the ability to understand that mental states underlie behavior in the self and others (also called mentalizing), appears to be a protective factor against the development of psychopathology among adults who have experienced early abuse and neglect. The associations among early adverse experiences, RF, and attachment security have yet to be examined in adolescence. The aim of the present study was to evaluate whether RF moderates the link between early neglect from primary caregivers and insecure attachment in adolescents. Specifically, in this study the authors test the hypothesis that neglect is less strongly associated with insecure attachment among adolescents with high RF. Seventy-nine adolescents (39 male) recruited from a community research center completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Three sets of independent raters scored the AAI for inferred parental neglect, attachment classification, and RF, respectively. The results of a binary logistic regression revealed that RF moderated the association between neglect and attachment: Neglect was only associated with insecure attachment among adolescents with low to moderate RF. The results of the study have the potential to inform our understanding of the evolution of the internal working model of attachment and mentalization during adolescence.