Sex differences moderate the relationship between adolescent language and mentalization.

Abstract

Mentalization refers to the ability to infer mental states of self and others, and this capacity facilitates social interactions. Advances in mentalization theory have proposed that there are both explicit and implicit mentalizing capacities and language may be identified as being an important factor in differentiating these two components of mentalization. Moreover, given apparent sex differences in language and mentalization, we hypothesized that sex may moderate the relationship between language and mentalization. In this study, measures assessing implicit and explicit mentalization as well as language were examined in 49 adolescents (25 girls and 24 boys) aged 14 to 18 years. Participants were administered the Mentalizing Stories for Adolescents to assess explicit mentalization, and the Reading Mind in the Eyes Task to assess implicit mentalization. Language was assessed using the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals. Sex was found to moderate the relationship between language and explicit mentalization; while language and explicit mentalization were related in boys, these domains were unrelated in girls. There was no moderation of language and implicit mentalization by sex, and these two domains were also uncorrelated. These findings suggest an important role for language development in the capacity for explicit mentalization in boys, and we interpret this as a benefit in girls who may be more socially motivated and less limited by language in their efforts to mentalize.

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

“…Taken together, these two studies suggest that AAI RF may be lower among adolescents than adults, a proposition that ought to be explicitly evaluated by examining developmental trajectories of mentalizing. Findings supporting this assertion would fit with the argument that specific brain regions critical for this skill are underdeveloped during adolescence (Fonagy et al, 2002Rutherford et al, 2012). However, adolescents' ability to mentalize may be less developed than adults' when discussing their childhood relationships with their caregivers simply due to the fact that fewer years separate them from their experiences being parented as young children; perhaps the more time lapses, the greater individuals' ability to mentalize regarding prior relationship experiences.…”

An Initial Examination of the Association of Reflective Functioning to Parenting of Fathers

“…RF also was correlated with years of education. Rosenblum et al () found no association between education and reflectivity, Rutherford et al () found that more explicit mentalization was related to better language abilities among adolescent males, and Sadler et al () suggested that RF training was more effective for mothers higher in education. Our significant finding of a relationship between RF and education is in concert with the latter two findings and is unsurprising for two reasons.…”

Why is fathers’ reflective function important?

“…Preschool girls showed more frequent and developmentally more advanced mental-state talk than boys (Hughes & Dunn, 1998), preadolescent girls scored higher than boys on social and self-understanding tasks (Bosacki, 2000), and adolescent girls scored higher than boys on both explicit and implicit mentalization tasks (Rutherford et al, 2012). These gender differences are the result of the interaction of biological, social, and cultural determinants.…”