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The measurement of parental mentalisation: psychometric properties of the parental reflective functioning questionnaire (PRFQ) and a qualitative exploration of parental mentalisation in asylum-seeking mothers
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Date
2024
Authors
O'Connor, Molly
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
University College Cork
Published Version
Abstract
Systematic Review:
Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) is a parent’s ability to reflect on their mental states, the mental states of their child, and to appreciate how they may influence each other. The Parental Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ) offers a brief, self-report assessment of PRF that can be administered to parents of children 0-5 years of age. This systematic review explored the psychometric properties of the PRFQ with special attention to its use in different cultures.
A systematic literature search yielded 1,742 independent records for abstract sift and 174 records were sifted at full text review. There were 60 papers which met our inclusion criteria, representing 62 individual studies. Descriptive data were extracted from each included study and synthesised narratively. Included studies spanned a wide range of countries and included both clinical and community populations.
There was substantial variation in how the scores on PRFQ subscales were interpreted to reflect PRF across studies, with some studies engaging in scoring transformations and re-coding of the scores in line with their interpretation. Results also showed large variability in the internal consistency of the PRFQ which transcended potential cultural differences, particularly concerning the pre-mentalisation (PM) subscale. The original item loadings of the PRFQ were supported in two studies excluding the validation studies by PRFQ developers. In seven studies, the PRFQ items underwent changes and omissions to better fit the population of interest. Some challenges implementing the PRFQ in parents of children beyond 0 – 5 years old and high-risk populations were noted. Together, the findings paint a mixed picture of the psychometric properties of the PRFQ across a range of populations, providing insight into the validity and reliability of the PRFQ in different contexts.
Major Project:
Parental mentalisation is the process by which parents try to make sense of themselves and their children in terms of their mental states, which is measured through assessments of Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF). Asylum-seeking mothers can experience various stressors which may influence parental mentalisation and the parent-child relationship.
This study used reflective thematic analysis (TA) to explore how parental mentalisation is evidenced in asylum-seeking mothers, with consideration of the cultural and contextual factors that may impact it. Six mothers participated in semi-structured interviews, which focused on how they made sense of their child’s mind and behaviour, themselves as a parent, and the parent-child relationship.
Four main themes were identified. The theme of “Understanding the Child’s Mind” shed light on the various strategies participants used to understand the mental states of their children, as well as the emotional impact of the uncertainty they often experienced. The bidirectionality of emotional states between parent and child was discussed in the theme of “A Dyad Intertwined: The Interplay of Parent and Child Emotions”, while “Navigating a New Context and Culture” referenced the shift in parenting expectations, with attention to possible influences on parental mentalisation. Finally, “Ghosts in the Nursery: The Impact of Trauma” captured the mothers’ reflections on their own childhood histories and traumatic experiences, which influenced their interactions with their children and the motivation for their children to have different lives than they themselves had.
The results from this study provide insights into understanding parental mentalisation in an asylum-seeking context and offer recommendations for clinical practice and future research.
Description
Keywords
Parental mentalisation , Asylum seekers
Citation
O'Connor, M. 2024. The measurement of parental mentalisation: psychometric properties of the parental reflective functioning questionnaire (PRFQ) and a qualitative exploration of parental mentalisation in asylum-seeking mothers. DClinPsych Thesis, University College Cork.