Adolescent Adjustment The Role of Parental Reflective Function

Adolescent Adjustment: The Role of Parental Reflective Function and Behavior. Naomi Benbassat, M. A. Beatriz Priel, Ph. D. Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Israel

"Reflective Function" Definition: A meta-cognitive ability to think about thoughts and feelings of both self and others in an attempt to understand the behavior of both self and other people (Fonagy & Target, 1997)

The capacity to take the perspective of the other and thus to see things from the vantage point of a child, friend, spouse, or even the whole of humanity is a defining attribute of human beings (George Herbert Mead).

Reflective Function – Related terms Self-consciousness Self-awareness Emotional intelligence Introspection Theory of mind Social intelligence Empathy Psychological Mindedness

Research on Parental Reflective Function n The mothers' Reflective Function has been shown to be related to children's early attachment relationships (Fonagy et al, 1991) and to children's understanding of emotions (Steele et al, 1999).

Objectives n Compare the mother's and father’s Reflective Function, parenting behavior and involvement in parenting. n Look for a possible association between parental Reflective Function, parenting behavior and level of involvement. n Look for a possible relationship between parental Reflective Function, parenting behavior and level of involvement, and the adjustment of their adolescent children.

Participants and procedure n A convenience sample of 106 adolescents (41 boys and 65 girls) aged 14 -18 years and their mothers and fathers. n Inclusion criteria: (a) intact families; (b) reasonable proficiency in Hebrew; (c) parental education of 7 grades or more, (d) agreement of both parents and adolescent to participate in the study. n During home visits, fathers, mothers and adolescents were interviewed separately by three interviewers and asked to complete questionnaires. The interviews were audiotaped, and later transcribed and coded.

Parental Measures n Demographic data (age, education). n Parenting behavior: the Parental Bonding Instrument (PBI; Parker et al, 1979). n Level of parental involvement: the Child Care-giving Involvement Scale (CCIS; Wood & Repetti, 2004). n Parental Reflective Function: The Parent Development Interview (PDI; Aber et al, 1985) and Fonagy’s Reflective Function scoring system (Fonagy et al, 1998).

n n n Q: Has Sara changed during the last years? A: No. What bothers me is that she gets mad all of a sudden. We have to be gentle with her, so we are trying… Q: Does this happen more frequently during the last years? A: No, I think may be this is because she is a middle child, so… it is typical [behavior for a middle child], this is what I think. Q: Did she change in her social relations or at school? A: No, she is very stable, she knows what is going on and she has good friends.

Q: Has Sharon changed during the last years? A: I think the changes are more … she feels she should be treated and respected as an older [child] … I guess that in a way she is right. We have to undergo changes as well, not only her. She is more assertive, she is more… let's say argumentative… I'm not sure if it is only for the sake of winning an argument. I mean it is possible that she is fighting for space … All of a sudden, her friends seem to be more important for her. Not that in the past they weren't, but friends were friends, and family was family. But today, she can go out at noon, and forget to come back home, that is, … her social life appears to be more important for her. Friends were always important to her, friends and games. … but now it seems to be in a total way, she appears to be fully committed and dedicated to her friends…. this wasn't before. At school, I think that there is no…. I don’t know if it is related to adolescence, however now she appears to be very busy, and she has to learn to organize her time….

Adolescents’ Measures n Adolescents' social competence and internalizing and externalizing symptoms: the Youth Self - Report (YSR; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001 ). n Self–perception: the Adolescent Self-Perception Profile (ASPP; Harter, 1988).

Means and standard deviations of variables in fathers and mothers Mean (SD) Fathers Mean (SD) F(1, 105) Reflective function 4. 26 (1. 39) Level of involvement 42. 49 (4. 64) Parenting behavior: - warmth 31. 40 (4. 64) - over controlling 8. 62 (5. 26) 3. 79 (1. 46) 35. 77 (6. 38) 11. 55 ** 80. 81 ** 28. 95 (5. 36) 7. 62 (5. 47) 26. 69 ** 5. 26* ** p<0. 01 * p<0. 05

Correlation coefficients between parental Reflective Function and their involvement in parenting and parenting behavior Involvement in parenting Mother RF mothers RF fathers Father -. 08 Warmth Mother Father. 01 . 02 Over controlling -. 01 . 02 . 05

Correlations between parental Reflective Function, involvement in parenting, parenting behavior, and specific outcomes in their adolescent girls Social Competence Self-perception social Self-perception personal Internalizing symptoms Externalizing symptoms Mothers . 05 . 04 -. 12 . 15 . 06 Fathers . 32** -. 01 -. 31* . 39** . 12 Reflective Function Involvement in parenting Mothers . 10 . 26* . 03 -. 24 -. 09 Fathers . 07 -. 14 -. 20 . 16 -. 01 Parental behavior – Warmth Mothers . 04 . 12 . 05 -. 19 -. 25* Fathers . 14 . 04 -. 05 -. 09 -. 08 Parental behavior – Over controlling Mothers -. 07 . 01 -. 16 . 13 . 34** Fathers -. 15 . 01 -. 01 . 02 . 47** * p<. 05 ** p<. 01 (two-tailed)

Correlations between parental Reflective Function, involvement in parenting, parenting behavior, and specific outcomes in their adolescent boys Social Self-perception Competence social Self-perception personal Internalizing symptoms Externalizing symptoms Reflective Function Mothers . 03 -. 41** -. 22 . 14 . 06 Fathers . 02 -. 34* -. 28 . 22 . 26 Involvement in parenting Mothers -. 10 . 19 . 04 -. 25 -. 24 Fathers . 15 . 09 -. 05 -. 50** -. 45** Parental behavior – Warmth Mothers . 22 . 48** . 28 -. 14 -. 26 Fathers . 23 . 52** . 29 -. 38* -. 50** Parental behavior – Over controlling Mothers -. 22 -. 40* -. 47** . 14 . 32* Fathers -. 16 -. 34* -. 41** . 16 . 30 * p<. 05 ** p<. 01 (two-tailed).

Summary of main findings n The father's reflective function, warmth, and involvement in parenting were lower than those of the mother. n There was no association between parental reflective function and other parenting measures. n Parental behavior and involvement in parenting were associated with positive outcomes, especially among boys. n Parental reflective function was associated with both positive and negative outcomes.

Fathers' parental measures were lower than those of the mothers n n Father-adolescent relationships were more distant and less intensive than mother-adolescent relationships (Noller & Callan, 1990). Fathers were more avoidant and less emotionally involved with their families (Hosley & Montemayor, 1997). Fathers assume less responsibility for their children's care, even when mothers are employed full-time (Pleck & Pleck, 1997). Women were more aware than men of emotions in both themselves and others (Barrett et al, 2000).

Lack of association between parental reflective function and other parenting variables n The construct "reflective function" captures a distinct feature, which is different from the other parental characteristics.

A warm, involved and not over controlling parent improves adolescent adjustment, especially among boys. n Parent-adolescent relationships were more predictive of psychosocial maturity in boys than in girls (Bomar & Sabatelli, 1996). n Adolescent boys' self esteem was more strongly related to family relations compared to that of girls (Bush, 2000).

Possible reasons for greater parental influence on boys n When compared with boys, adolescent girls have closer relationships outside of the family (Bukowsky et al, 1994), and are more likely to seek support and express their emotions with peers (Rose & Rudolph, 2006). n Adolescent girls have greater need for autonomy, since parents grant more autonomy to boys (Bulcroft et al, 1996). n Adolescent girls have been found to score higher than boys on a psychosocial maturity scale (Bomar & Sabatelli, 1996), and in ego development (Cohn, 1991).

Parental Reflective Function was associated with both positive and negative adolescent outcomes On the positive side, there was a correlation between fathers' reflective function and daughters' social competence. This finding is consistent with previous studies showing that an understanding of the minds of others (Theory of Mind - TOM) is related to social skills and moral sensibility in pre-school children (Dunn et al, 2000).

On the negative side, fathers' reflective function was associated with more internalizing symptoms and lower self perception in girls, and the reflective function of both parents was associated with lower self-perception in boys. Children with higher TOM scores have been shown to be more sensitive and more likely to rate themselves poorly following failure (Cutting & Dunn, 2002). n There is an inverse relationship between self-consciousness and self-esteem in adolescents ( Yee & Flanagan, 1985). n Self-awareness is a risk factor for internalizing and externalizing symptoms in 10 - 17 years old children (Steinhausen & Winkler-Metzke, 2001). n Psychological mindedness is associated with lower self-esteem, increased self criticism and feelings of anxiety (Farber, 1989). n

n "Accurate self perception involves both costs and benefits. Removing the rosecolored coating from one's looking glass is unlikely to enhance self-confidence and optimism. The interpersonal benefits of accurate self-perception may, however, be substantial" (Trapnell & Campbell, 1999, p. 299).

Conclusions n Parental reflective function has costs and benefits. n Adolescent boys need a warm and involved parent, especially father.