Explaining the relation between early mind-mindedness and children’s mentalizing abilities: The development of an observational preschool assessment.

Fishburn, Sarah; Meins, Elizabeth; Fernyhough, Charles; Centifanti, Luna C. Muñoz; Larkin, Fionnuala

doi:10.1037/dev0001272

Cited by 12 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 61 publications

(116 reference statements)

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“…Most studies that included Black parents or Latina parents were still primarily White samples and reflected mostly clinical samples of parents with mental health disorders or the parents of atypically developing children (among examples of recent studies are Pawlby et al, 2010 ; Kirk and Sharma, 2017 ; Schacht et al, 2017 ; Bigelow et al, 2018 ). While these studies made valuable contributions to the establishment of a literature on mind-mindedness, much remains to be understood about the mentalization experiences of parents of from diverse ethnic-racial groups ( Fishburn et al, 2022 ). We acknowledge the ways in which the current study, similar to current literature of mind-mindedness, is conceptually and methodologically limited to majority White families.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stressed Mothers Receiving Infant Mental Health-Based Early Head Start Increase in Mind-Mindedness

et al. 2022

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Maternal mind-mindedness is a characteristic of supportive parenting and contributes to many positive social–emotional outcomes in early childhood. However, there is limited knowledge of mind-mindedness among parents experiencing parenting stress from low-income settings. This is a critical gap in evidence given the robust role of supportive parenting in children’s development and the capacity of home-based interventions to improve children’s outcomes through enhancing supportive parenting. This study examined: (1) maternal mind-mindedness, operationalized as mothers’ appropriate mind-related comments (MRC), across toddlerhood in mothers of toddlers who participated in infant mental health (IMH) based Early Head Start (EHS) services; and (2) whether parenting stress moderated EHS program effects on appropriate MRC over time. Data from a primarily White midwestern site in the United States were collected at study enrollment and when toddlers were 14-, 24-, and 36-months of age (N = 152; mothers Mage = 22.4 years, SD = 5.1; toddlers Mage = 14.4 months, SD = 1.3; 51% females). Data included parent-completed questionnaires and observed parent–child interactions, which were coded for MRC. Although there were no main effects of EHS programming on mothers’ appropriate MRC over time, multilevel growth curve modeling indicated that parenting stress moderated EHS effects on mothers’ appropriate MRC over time. Among mothers with greater parenting stress, those who received IMH-based EHS services demonstrated greater proportions of MRC over time as compared to mothers with greater stress in the control group. IMH-based parenting interventions that target parenting stress may promote appropriate MRC in low-income populations during toddlerhood.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Stressed Mothers Receiving Infant Mental Health-Based Early Head Start Increase in Mind-Mindedness

et al. 2022

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“…Of note, prior research has shown evidence that interactional mind-mindedness using the original coding scheme is a stable construct as late as 19–20 months of age (Kirk et al, 2015; McMahon et al, 2016) and mind-mindedness was assessed in a sample of children who ranged in age from 4 to 27 months in one of the studies referenced examining the association between mind-mindedness and behavioral difficulties in adolescent, trauma-exposed mothers (Easterbrooks et al, 2017). Further, though we controlled for mind-mindedness at 13 months, future research should be conducted to determine stability of interactional mind-mindedness across infancy and toddler ages and/or whether the new measure of observational mind-mindedness (Fishburn et al, 2022) would provide a more valid assessment as these toddler’s language skills and ability to communicate their internal states become more sophisticated.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At the time of conducting this study, there were no specific guidelines for coding mind-mindedness when children are between the first year of life and preschool age in a free play context, which is how our sample was assessed at 28 months. However, a recently published study describes the development of an observational preschool assessment of mind-mindedness when children were 44 months of age (Fishburn et al, 2022). In this assessment, caregivers and their children participate in a loosely scripted task with no time constraints while coders note instances of the mother soliciting her child’s involvement and using adaptive communication and internal state talk.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mind-mindedness in a high-risk sample: Differential benefits for developmental outcomes based on child maltreatment.

Brown¹,

Ng²,

Lisle³

et al. 2023

Developmental Psychology

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Mind-mindedness is associated with positive developmental outcomes. However, much of the literature uses mostly White, middle to high socioeconomic status (SES) samples despite evidence that the benefits of mind-mindedness may vary based on degree of social risk. Additionally, few studies have examined relations between mind-mindedness and language development. The current study investigates whether mind-mindedness predicts children’s language development and behavioral functioning and if family history of childhood maltreatment moderates the relation of mind-mindedness to these outcomes. Participants were 98 mothers (49.0% Black, 24.5% White, 13.3% Latina, 7.2% multiracial; 81.6% low SES per Hollingshead classifications) and their children (49 boys, 49 girls) from the Rochester, New York area recruited at Time 1 (Mage = 13.34 months) and followed up twice (Mages = 27.51 [Time 2] and 39.31 months [Time 3]). Mother–child dyads participated in videotaped free play interactions at Times 1 and 2. Using transcripts of these interactions, we coded mind-mindedness at Times 1 and 2 and children’s internal state language at Time 2. Mothers reported on children’s behavioral functioning at Time 3. Findings revealed that Time 2 mind-mindedness predicted fewer Time 3 behavioral difficulties in children from maltreating families but did not predict behavioral difficulties in children from nonmaltreating families. Additionally, Time 1 mind-mindedness predicted children’s Time 2 use of decontextualized internal state language. Findings highlight the importance of examining mind-mindedness in higher risk populations and how mind-mindedness can be leveraged as a protective factor to prevent future maladjustment in children at risk for adverse outcomes.

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“…Finally, as noted, our study was not powered to statistically examine mentalization in the context of race. Recent research has highlighted the need to examine mentalization among racially diverse samples (Brophy-Herb et al, 2022; Fishburn et al, 2022; Lee et al, 2021). From this perspective, the inclusion of descriptive statistics among our sample, comprised primarily of self-identified Black and White parents, makes some contributions to the literature on mentalization among diverse parents.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Longitudinal associations between parental reflective functioning and maternal mind-mindedness.

Brophy‐Herb¹,

Lawler²,

Stacks³

et al. 2023

Journal of Family Psychology

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Little work has examined longitudinal associations between parental reflective functioning (PRF) and mind-mindedness (MM), limiting the understanding of separate or bidirectional trajectories of these related but distinct forms of mentalization. We examined cross-lagged associations between PRF, assessed via interview, and MM, coded from play interactions, over 12 months among 90 parents (86% female; 57% White, 43% Black) of infants (Mage = 10.56 months, SD = 8.20) who were participating in The Michigan Model of Infant Mental Health Home Visiting. Data were collected at study enrollment Time 1 (T1) and at 6-month Time 2 (T2) and 12-month Time 3 (T3) postenrollment. Mind-minded comments were coded as appropriate, reflecting accurate interpretation of mental states or nonattuned, characterizing inaccurate interpretations. PRF and appropriate MM each remained stable over time. PRF at the T1 positively predicted appropriate MM at T2. No other cross-lagged associations between PRF and appropriate MM were significant. Concurrent correlations between appropriate MM and PRF were significant only at T3. Nonattuned MM showed stability from T1 to T2 but nonattuned MM at the T2 did not predict nonattuned MM at T3. Greater PRF at T1 predicted less nonattuned MM at T2. No other cross-lagged associations between PRF and nonattuned MM were significant.

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Explaining the relation between early mind-mindedness and children’s mentalizing abilities: The development of an observational preschool assessment.

Abstract: for their valuable contributions to data collection and coding, and the families for their generous participation. The data file and study analysis code are available via the Open Science Framework (Meins & Centifanti, 2021, https://osf.io/hg7cm/). This study was not preregistered.

Cited by 12 publications

References 61 publications

Stressed Mothers Receiving Infant Mental Health-Based Early Head Start Increase in Mind-Mindedness

Stressed Mothers Receiving Infant Mental Health-Based Early Head Start Increase in Mind-Mindedness

Mind-mindedness in a high-risk sample: Differential benefits for developmental outcomes based on child maltreatment.

Longitudinal associations between parental reflective functioning and maternal mind-mindedness.

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