Maternal reflective functioning as a multidimensional construct: Differential associations with children’s temperament and externalizing behavior

Smaling, Hanneke J A; Huijbregts, Stephan C. J.; Heijden, Kristiaan B. van der; Goozen, Stephanie Helena Maria Van; Swaab, Hanna

doi:10.1016/j.infbeh.2016.06.007

Cited by 48 publications

(54 citation statements)

References 49 publications

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“…Moreover, previous studies suggest that childhood trauma and parental RF are related to impairments in RF (Benbassat and Priel 2012;Peter Fonagy et al 2016;Ha et al 2011;Smaling et al 2016). Future studies need to investigate how these factors influence the relationships between RF and psychological difficulties during adolescence.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Longitudinal Relationships Between Reflective Functioning, Empathy, and Externalizing Behaviors During Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Morosan

Ghisletta

Badoud

et al. 2019

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

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Objectives: Reflective functioning (RF) impairments, characterized by the inability to understand behaviors in terms of mental states, have been linked to different psychological problems. However, the mechanisms through which RF impairments are linked to conduct problems need further investigation. The present study aims to explore, using network analyses, how different RF impairments relate to specific conduct problems manifestations, and to examine the role played by hyperactivity/ inattention, emotional, and peer problems in these relationships, in a sample of 1664 Spanish adolescents from the general population. Method: We estimated a graphical LASSO network connecting different RF impairments and the different conduct, emotional, peers, and hyperactivity/inattention problems. We examined the most central nodes in the network and the shortest paths between RF impairments and conduct problems manifestations. Next, we computed directed acyclic graphs (DAG) in order to gain insight about the possible directions of the prediction between the variables. Results: Shortest path analyses and DAG suggest direct connections between RF impairments and conduct problems, but also that impulsivity, depressed mood, and bully victimization play a mediating role in these relationships. DAG indicates that RF impairments lead to different psychological difficulties. Conclusions: The findings suggest different pathways connecting RF impairments and conduct problems. The results find echo in the mentalization-based theory highlighting that emotion dysregulations, such as anger proneness, play an important role in connection RF impairments and different conduct problems. RF impairments appear to be a transdiagnostic process associated with different psychological difficulties, representing an important target in detection and intervention strategies.

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Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 93%

Longitudinal Relationships Between Reflective Functioning, Empathy, and Externalizing Behaviors During Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Morosan

Ghisletta

Badoud

et al. 2019

Child Psychiatry Hum Dev

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show abstract

“…Online maternal mentalization during infancy has been positively associated with children's language acquisition in toddlerhood (Laranjo & Bernier, ), executive functioning (Bernier, Carlson, Deschênes, & Matte‐Gagné, ), school readiness in preschool (Bernier et al., ), and theory of mind development (e.g., Devine & Hughes, ; Kirk et al., ; Meins et al., ). Furthermore, high prenatal (offline) as well as postnatal (online) maternal mentalization predicts lower levels of internalizing and externalizing behaviors in toddlerhood (Meins, Centifanti, Fernyhough, & Fishburn, ; Smaling, Huijbregts, van der Heijden, van Goozen, & Swaab, ), suggesting that maternal mentalization can buffer against the development of conduct problems (e.g., Hughes, Aldercotte, & Foley, ). Thus, understanding the processes by which online maternal mentalization relates to other positive aspects of mother–infant and mother–father–infant interactions, namely maternal sensitivity and family triadic interaction (e.g., Feldman & Masalha, ; McHale & Rasmussen, ), can help illuminate important precursor of early development.…”

Section: Maternal Mentalization and Behaviors During Observed Dyadic mentioning

confidence: 99%

Maternal Mentalization and Behavior Under Stressful Contexts: The Moderating Roles of Prematurity and Household Chaos

Yatziv¹,

Gueron‐Sela²,

Meiri

et al. 2018

Infancy

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This study examines the links between online maternal mentalization during mother–infant interaction, maternal sensitivity, and family triadic interaction while considering the cumulative role of two stressful contexts (cumulative stressful contexts): premature birth (a child‐driven stressful context) and household chaos (an environment‐driven stressful context). Two moderation models were tested on a sample of 134 families with 6‐month‐old infants (77 low‐risk preterm, 57 full‐term). Cumulative stressful contexts mitigated the relations between maternal mentalization and behavior, such that online maternal mentalization during mother–infant interaction was related to both maternal sensitivity and the quality of family triadic interaction under low cumulative stressful contexts, but not under high cumulative stressful contexts. Implications for understanding the influence of online maternal mentalization on maternal sensitivity and the family triad are discussed.

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“…While the aforementioned studies have measured overall RF scores, some studies have begun to measure RF in a multidimensional way, which allows for a deeper understanding of how RF changes over time and differential associations of parenting and child behavior (Borelli, St. John, Cho, & Suchman, ; Smaling, Huijbregts, van der Heijden, van Goozen, & Swaab, ; Suchman, DeCoste, Leigh, & Borelli, ). Changes in the highest passage score (potential RF), number of passages where parents demonstrate mentalization, and the number of ways that parents demonstrate mentalization may change as a result of treatment, even if the overall RF score does not change.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Infant mental health home visiting in the context of an infant—toddler court team: Changes in parental responsiveness and reflective functioning

Stacks

Barron

Wong

2019

Infant Mental Health Journal

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This article describes an infant–toddler court team in Michigan, the community‐based participatory research approach to the implementation evaluation, and the resulting changes in parenting. Like other court teams, Michigan's Baby Court is led by a science‐informed jurist, and all service providers are knowledgeable about the developmental needs of young children and engage in collaborative communication throughout the case. Relationship‐based treatment in the form of infant mental health home‐visiting was provided to families. Sixteen parents participated in pre‐ and posttest evaluation visits to assess changes in parents’ reflective functioning and interactions with their child. Findings suggest improvements in parents’ responsiveness, positive affect, and reflective functioning, with moderate effects. Higher risk parents demonstrated significant changes in reflective functioning, as compared to those at lower risk. These findings add to and support the limited literature on the effectiveness of infant–toddler court teams, which include relationship‐based and trauma‐informed services.

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Maternal reflective functioning as a multidimensional construct: Differential associations with children’s temperament and externalizing behavior

Cited by 48 publications

References 49 publications

Longitudinal Relationships Between Reflective Functioning, Empathy, and Externalizing Behaviors During Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Longitudinal Relationships Between Reflective Functioning, Empathy, and Externalizing Behaviors During Adolescence and Young Adulthood

Maternal Mentalization and Behavior Under Stressful Contexts: The Moderating Roles of Prematurity and Household Chaos

Infant mental health home visiting in the context of an infant—toddler court team: Changes in parental responsiveness and reflective functioning

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