Understanding the Externalizing Behavior of School-Age Boys: The Role of a Mother’s Mentalization and Attachment

Abstract

Objectives Externalizing behavior problems are considered to be a serious impediment to a child’s development, and therefore it is important to identify their predictors. In this study, we investigated the connections between school-aged boys’ externalizing problems, the mother’s reflective functioning (RF) and the mother’s perception of her childhood relationship with her own caregivers. Methods The study sample comprised 39 school-age boys diagnosed with externalizing behavior problems together with their mothers. A child’s psychopathology was assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher Report Form. Our assessment of the mothers’ mentalizing capacities was based on the Adult Attachment Interview and Reflective Functioning Scale. The perception of a mother’s childhood relationship with her parents was assessed using the Parental Bonding Instrument. Results The analysis revealed that more severe cases of aggressive and rule-breaking behavior in boys were associated with lower RF in mothers, as well as with a mother’s perception of her childhood relationship with her own parents as less autonomous. More aggressive behavior in boys was also associated with a mother’s perception of herself as experiencing a higher degree of care from her father during her own childhood. Conclusions These are only preliminary findings and we have discussed them with a view to understanding the possible ways in which a mother’s RF and the intergenerational context of relationship quality are associated with externalizing behavior problems in middle childhood.

Self and Other Mentalizing Polarities and Dimensions of Mental Health: Association With Types of Symptoms, Functioning and Well-Being

“…Finally, albeit limited, there is evidence supporting the association between the role of mentalizing in the development of internalizing and externalizing problems (Sharp et al, 2008). Nonetheless, this evidence approaches the association from either a specific psychopathological condition (e.g., autism, sexual abuse, complex trauma, and borderline symptoms; e.g., Ensink et al, 2016) or a trans-generational point of view (i.e., maternal reflecting function moderating children externalizing difficulties; e.g., Ensink et al, 2017;Dejko-Wańczyk et al, 2020), or comprise a longitudinal design to analyze the trajectories of externalizing problems based on mentalizing variations (Morosan et al, 2020).…”

Attachment- and Emotion-Focused Parenting Interventions for Child and Adolescent Externalizing and Internalizing Behaviors: A Meta-Analysis

“…In particular, disorganized attachment most strongly predicts EXT and avoidant attachment is most strongly associated with INT (Groh et al, 2017 ). In addition to attachment styles, caregiving behaviors including caregiver sensitivity and reflective functioning are associated with both EXT and INT (Carlone & Milan, 2020 ; Dejko-Wanczyk et al, 2020 ; Kok et al, 2013 ; Wang et al, 2013 ). Given the established links between quality of caregiving and attachment, attachment-based interventions have predominantly focused on evaluating changes in caregiver sensitivity and attachment security (e.g., Bakermans-Kranenburg et al, 2003 ).…”

Relationship between Maternal Attachment and Behavioral Adjustment Problems among Children in Selangor, Malaysia

“…Another study also found a relationship between secure attachment and children's behavioral adjustment problems (i.e. depression, anxiety, aggressive) (Ensink et al, 2019), A recent study demonstrated that children with poor attachment have higher risk of behavioral adjustment problems (Dejko et al, 2020). Furthermore, children raised by sensitive and responsible mothers tend to have fewer behavioral adjustment problems (Nunes et al, 2013).…”