Reflective functioning: a review

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Developmental Psychology

Background:

• Mentalization is the capacity to understand behavior as driven by mental states.
• Reflective functioning (RF) is an empirically grounded measure of mentalization.
• The Reflective Functioning (RF) scale was developed by Fonagy et al. (1998).

Purpose of the Study:

• To review and discuss empirical studies on parental RF.
• To examine the role of RF in adult and child attachment.
• To explore RF in the context of psychopathology and psychotherapy.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of empirical studies on Reflective Functioning.
• Analysis of research linking RF to attachment, psychopathology, and psychotherapy.
• Discussion of findings related to psychiatric populations and therapeutic outcomes.

Main Results:

• Evidence supports the relevance of RF in attachment research.
• Parental RF is linked to psychopathology and child attachment.
• RF plays a role in psychotherapy process and outcomes.
• Research on RF, while limited, shows consistent support for its utility.

Conclusions:

• Reflective functioning is a valuable empirical measure in attachment, psychopathology, and psychotherapy research.
• Further research should address limitations of the RF scale, such as its extensiveness.
• RF offers a promising framework for understanding mentalization across various psychological domains.