Building emotional security in middle childhood through parental mentalization

Introduction: Mentalization, operationalized as Reflective Function (RF; Fonagy et al., 1991), involves the capacity to consider self and others in terms of mental states and also the ability to understand that self and other behaviors are underpinned by psychological motivations, thought, feelings and desires. Despite the considerable number of studies that underline the importance of parental mentalization as a protective factor for child’s development (Slade et al., 2005), data on the relationship between parental RF and emotional security in middle childhood are still lacking. Aim: this study aims to investigate the role of parental mentalization in influencing their children’s emotional security in middle childhood. Method: the study involved 75 participants (25 Italian family triads): 25 mothers, 25 fathers, 25 children aged 9-14 (M = 11.29, SD = 2.42). All parents completed the Adult Attachment Interview (George et al., 1985), coded using the Reflective Functioning Scale (RFS; Fonagy et al., 1998), while children completed the Child Attachment Interview (CAI; Shmueli-Goetz et al., 2008). Results: data showed significant positive association between maternal RF and security CAI subscales, as Emotional Openness (r .492, p=.015) and Resolution of Conflicts (r .479, p=.015), and negative association between maternal RF and Involving Anger with both mother (r -.397, p=.050) and father (r -.485, p=.016). Regression analysis showed that maternal RF represents a significant predictor (p < .05) of Emotional Openness (β =.43) and Resolution of Conflicts (β =.42). None associations between paternal RF and CAI subscales were found. Conclusion: results show that maternal RF plays a crucial role in middle childhood for the development of children’s emotional security, considered as the ability to contemplate a complex range of feelings within the relational life episodes. On the other hand, paternal RF will probably display a stronger role during permanent adolescence.