Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 15, 2025
07:56
Assessing the Coherence of Parents' Short Narratives Regarding their Child Using the Five-Minute Speech Sample Procedure
Published on: September 19, 2019
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Parental guilt and children's internalizing and externalizing behavior: The moderating role of parental reflective
Ido Shalev1, Noga Sharon1, Florina Uzefovsky1
1Department of Psychology, Ben Gurion University of the Negev.
Summary
Parental guilt is linked to child behavior problems, especially when parents have low reflective functioning. Enhancing parental reflective functioning (PRF) may help reduce guilt associated with parenting challenges.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Child Development
- Parenting Studies
Background:
- Parental guilt is common due to the responsibilities of raising children.
- Excessive guilt can negatively impact parents' mental health, contributing to depression and anxiety.
- Previous research indicates guilt is heightened in parents of children with behavioral and emotional difficulties.
Purpose of the Study:
- To quantify parental guilt and explore resilience factors.
- To examine the association between children's behavioral problems and parental guilt.
- To assess if parental reflective functioning (PRF) moderates the relationship between child difficulties and parental guilt.
Main Methods:
- One hundred six parents of children aged 1.30-9.30 years were recruited.
- Parental reflective functioning (PRF) was measured using the Parent Development Interview and a new coding system.
- Parental guilt (intensity, reparation, internal reaction) and children's difficulties were quantified using validated measures.
Main Results:
- Children's behavioral and emotional problems were associated with increased parental guilt, but only when PRF levels were not high.
- Internalizing problems correlated with higher guilt intensity and negative internal reactions at low to moderate PRF.
- Externalizing problems correlated with higher guilt intensity at low PRF levels.
Conclusions:
- Parental reflective functioning plays a crucial role in mitigating guilt related to child behavioral issues.
- Interventions aimed at enhancing PRF could potentially alleviate parental guilt.
- Supporting parents' reflective capacities may reduce the negative impact of guilt on parental well-being.
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