Internal Working Models Of Relationships Research Articles

Mentalization and Its Use in Schools

Th is article outlines the current state of theoretical knowledge about mentalization, which appears to be essential for eff ective practice in the teaching profession. Mentalization is the capacity to understand and make sense of our own and others' actions by recognising and giving meaning to intentional mental states, including needs, thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and motivations. It is the understanding of the background of the behaviour – the understanding of the mental states that have led to a certain behaviour. Thanks to mentalization theory, we are now able to think and discuss in more detail what happens between and within people as they interact in diff erent social contexts such as schools. Th ese skills are useful for teachers as they work with children, whose metalizing skills are still developing. At the same time, in their practice, teachers often encounter children who come to school with disruptive behaviours, insecure attachment styles, and negative internal working models of relationships that make the healthy development of mentalizing skills diffi cult. Th is article highlights the importance of mentalization in educational contexts and provides a framework for interventions aimed at increasing mentalization skills among teachers, parents, and students. Empirical evidence has shown that the implementation of mentalization-based programmes in schools can lead to signifi cant improvements in teacherresilience, as well as a reduction of aggressive behaviour among students and an improvement of their academic performance.

Development and Preliminary Evaluation of Family Minds: A Mentalization-based Psychoeducation Program for Foster Parents

Mentalization-based interventions show promise in improving mental health outcomes for children and parents through increasing a family's reflective functioning, or ability to mentalize. Mentalizing involves the ability to understand behavior in relation to mental states, such as thoughts and feelings, and typically develops within the context of secure attachment relationships. One area not given much consideration when training foster parents is their capacity to mentalize. This study evaluated Family Minds, a newly developed psychoeducational intervention for foster parents, designed to increase their ability to mentalize. The current paper reports on the development and preliminary empirical evaluation of Family Minds in a quasi-experimental study where 102 foster parents received either Family Minds or a typical foster parenting class, which served as a control group. Results indicate that parents who received Family Minds significantly increased their levels of reflective functioning as assessed with the Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire and a new Five-Minute Speech Sample procedure coded using the Reflective Functioning Scale, and revealed a tendency to show decreased levels of parenting stress on the Parenting Stress Index, while the control group showed no such improvements. These findings support the hypothesis that a short-term psychoeducational intervention may improve foster parents' ability to mentalize themselves and their children. These skills are very beneficial for foster parents, as they frequently deal with children who come into their home with challenging behaviors, attachment issues, and negative internal working models of relationships. This type of intervention has the potential to lower placement breakdowns and improve the mental health of foster children.

Relational Dynamics as Sources of Risk and Resilience in Adolescent Dating Violence: Introduction and Overview

This article introduces the second part of a two-part special issue featuring new directions in research on adolescent dating violence. The articles in this issue focus on the theme of relational dynamics that contribute to the quality of adolescents' dating relationships—for better or for worse. On the side of risk, empirical research demonstrates that internal working models of relationships that are colored by rejection sensitivity and insecure attachments are associated with maladaptive problem solving and intimate partner violence. On the side of protection, peer and therapeutic relationships are described that can deter at-risk adolescents from engaging in unhealthy romantic relationships. The issue concludes with commentary from one of the leading adolescent dating violence researchers in the field.

Genes, Personality, and Attachment in Adults: A Multivariate Behavioral Genetic Analysis

Behavioral genetic methods were used to estimate genetic and environmental contributions to (a) attachment-related anxiety and avoidance and (b) the overlap between these attachment dimensions and the Big Five personality traits. Two major findings emerged from these analyses. First, individual differences in attachment-related anxiety and avoidance were heritable, and second, much of the overlap between adult attachment and the Big Five traits was due to shared genetic influences. Discussion focuses on the implications of these results for attachment theory and research and provides a speculative account of the interplay between temperamental dimensions and internal working models of relationships across the life span.

Perceptions of parenting versus parent-child interactions among incest survivors

Objectives: Although women with histories of child sexual abuse (CSA) perceive themselves as less competent mothers and report greater parenting difficulties than nonabused women, few investigators have actually observed the parenting behaviors of CSA survivors. The primary aim of this study was to examine whether incest history was related to maternal perceptions of parenting efficacy and interactional patterns with their children. The secondary aim of this study was to explore the constructs of internal working models of relationships and maternal psychological adjustment as potential mediators of the relation between incest history and parenting. Methods: A community sample of 17 incest survivors, 18 nonabused women and their 3–6 year-old children participated. Mothers completed self-report measures of parenting efficacy, parental bonding (i.e., internal working models of relationships), and psychological adjustment. In addition, mothers interacted with their children in a problem-solving task. Results: Although incest survivors reported less parenting self-efficacy than did nonabused mothers, their interactional styles with their children were positive overall and comparable to those of nonabused mothers. Specifically, survivors displayed moderate to high levels of support, assistance, and confidence, and their children showed high levels of affection towards their mothers. Incest survivors reported less bonding with their own mothers in childhood and poorer current psychological adjustment. Conclusions: Findings suggest that incest survivors’ perceptions of their parenting abilities may be more negative than their actual parenting behaviors.

Integrating attachment theory and neuroscience in couple therapy

AbstractThe authors integrate findings from neurophysiology, affect regulation and attachment research, and apply them to treating couples. They observe that adult styles of relating to primary attachment figures parallel the attachment styles identified in infant–caregiver relationships. They work with couples on maintaining a state of attunement, providing a secure base, recognizing non‐verbal signals of unconscious associations, and processing the emotionally charged interactions that frequently occur in the relationship. They give a clinical example that shows how an understanding of attachment styles and internal working models of relationships provides a perspective in couple therapy for dealing with the underlying needs and longings of intimate relationships. Copyright © 2004 Whurr Publishers Ltd.

Is early attachment security carried forward into relationships with preschool peers?

The association between early parent‐child attachment security and peer rejection among preschool children was examined. Children in three preschool classrooms (N = 37) participated. Mothers rated their children's attachment security at age 3 years on the Attachment Q‐Set (Waters, 1987). Sociometric ratings were collected from classmates at age 4 years through individual picture interviews. Teachers rated externalizing and internalizing behaviour exhibited at preschool. Lower attachment security was associated with greater subsequent peer rejection and higher externalizing and internalizing behaviour scores. An exploratory path model suggested that the linkage between early insecure attachment and later peer rejection may be mediated by externalizing behaviour.

Understanding attachment security in family context.

Attachment theory (J. Bowlby, 1969) is not just about how internalized models of relationships affect interpersonal outcomes; it is primarily a theory about how interpersonal processes affect social and cognitive development. This study tested 3 hypotheses about the interpersonal sources of adult attachment security: (a) attachment security is relationship specific, (b) characteristics of partners affect attachment security, and (c) security of attachment is reciprocated. Measures of attachment security were obtained from 2 parents and 2 children (adolescent or older) in 208 middle-class families. Results of social relations model analysis (D. A. Kenny & L. La Voie, 1984) supported all 3 hypotheses. The author concludes that internal working models of relationships may not be so "internal" after all and that greater emphasis on the interpersonal sources of adult attachment security is warranted.

Representations of Attachment in Mothers and Their One-Year-Old Infants

Attachment classifications in mothers and their 1 -year-old infants were independently and concurrently assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview and the Strange Situation Procedure. Overall concordance was significant (k = 0.62), with strong links apparent between mothers classified dismissing and infants classified avoidant and between mothers classified autonomous and infants classified secure. Mothers' classified preoccupied were not more likely to have infants classified resistant. Mothers' perceptions and interpretations of the emotional distress of an infant observed in a 4-minute videotape were related to both infant and mother attachment classifications. These results are compatible with the suggestion that attachment classifications reflect differences in internal working models of relationships. Other measures of maternal psychosocial adjustment were not related to infant attachment classifications.