Contextual determinants of parental reflective functioning: Children with autism versus their typically developing siblings

Abstract

Parental reflective functioning is defined as holding in mind one’s child’s thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and intentions and reflecting on how these mental states may be affecting the child’s behavior. Although parental reflective functioning is often treated as a stable feature of the parent, there is growing appreciation that it may be shaped by the context in which the parent is operating. In this study, we examined parental reflective functioning using the Parental Developmental Interview when parents were talking about their interactions with their child with autism versus the child’s typically developing siblings. Our sample included 30 parents who had a child between the ages of 3 and 18 years with a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and at least one typically developing child. Findings indicated that parents exhibited significantly higher reflective functioning when interacting with their child with autism spectrum disorder versus the typically developing siblings, and the difference was moderated by parental self-efficacy. The evidence for a disparity in parental reflective functioning between children with autism spectrum disorder and their typically developing siblings (especially for parents with low parental self-efficacy) warrants further investigations that might lead to the development of effective interventions. Lay Abstract In this study, we examined parental reflective functioning using the Parental Developmental Interview when parents were talking about their interactions with their child with autism versus the child’s typically developing siblings. Our sample included 30 parents who had a child between the ages of 3 and 18 years with a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and at least one typically developing child. Findings indicated that parents exhibited significantly higher reflective functioning when interacting with their child with autism spectrum disorder versus the typically developing siblings, and the difference was moderated by parental self-efficacy.

Anger without a voice, anger without a solution: Parent–child triadic processes and the experience of caring for a child with a diagnosis of autism

“…A second possibility is that parents faced with the puzzle posed by their child’s restricted communication try harder to understand them. Consistent with this idea a study by Enav et al (2020) suggests that parents compensate by developing higher levels of mentalisation (reflective functioning) in relation to their child with autism as opposed to their neuro-typical child. In contrast, Kirk and Sharma (2017) suggest that parents have similar levels of mentalisation towards their children but hold more negative emotionally toned descriptions of their child with autism.…”

“…In contrast, Kirk and Sharma (2017) suggest that parents have similar levels of mentalisation towards their children but hold more negative emotionally toned descriptions of their child with autism. In short, these recent studies suggest a somewhat contradictory picture and use different ways of measuring mentalisation with only Enav et al (2020) using the more sophisticated measure of reflecting functioning offered by the Parent Development Interview (PDI: Aber et al, 1985).…”

Parental Reflective Functioning on the Parent Development Interview: A narrative review of measurement, association, and future directions

“…But when stress is too great, automatic modes prevail. Along similar lines, Enav and colleagues (2020) compared the levels of PRF on the PDI when mothers were describing their child with autism with that of their description of typically developing siblings. In a sample of 30 mothers with one autistic and at least one typically developing sibling, they found that the levels of PRF were consistently higher when mothers were speaking about the child with autism ( p < .001).…”