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Parental Reflective Functioning as a Moderator for the Relationship Between Maternal Depression and Child
Saba Khoshroo1, Parisa Sadat Seyed Mousavi2
1Family Research Institute, Shahid Beheshti University, Daneshjou blv, 1983969411, Tehran, Iran. Sabakhoshroo@gmail.com.
Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) can buffer maternal depression effects on externalizing behaviors in school-aged children. Certainty in mental states moderated this relationship, highlighting PRF
Area of Science:
- Developmental Psychology
- Clinical Psychology
- Child Psychiatry
Background:
- Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) involves understanding mental states in parent-child interactions.
- Maternal depression is linked to child internalizing and externalizing problems.
- The moderating role of PRF in this relationship requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the moderating effect of PRF on the association between maternal depression and child behavioral issues.
- To compare PRF levels between mothers of preschoolers and school-aged children.
Main Methods:
- 685 Iranian mothers and their children (preschool and school-aged) participated.
- Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire assessed PRF.
- Child Behavior Checklist and Beck Depression Inventory-II measured child behavior and maternal depression.
Main Results:
- Maternal depression correlated with pre-mentalizing and certainty in mental states.
- Mothers of school-aged children exhibited higher pre-mentalizing than mothers of preschoolers.
- Certainty in mental states moderated the link between maternal depression and externalizing behaviors in school-aged children.
Conclusions:
- Certainty in mental states is a key component of PRF that buffers maternal depression's impact on externalizing behaviors.
- PRF, particularly certainty in mental states, plays a differential role across child age groups.
- Interventions enhancing parental reflective functioning may mitigate behavioral problems in children of depressed mothers.
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