Mothers’ and fathers’ reflective functioning and its association with parenting behaviors and cortisol reactivity during a conflict interaction with their adolescent children

in Emotion (in press)

We assessed parental reflective functioning (PRF) with the Parent Development Interview - Revised, and investigated its association with parenting behaviors, i.e., autonomy support and psychological ... [more ▼]

We assessed parental reflective functioning (PRF) with the Parent Development Interview - Revised, and investigated its association with parenting behaviors, i.e., autonomy support and psychological control (operationalized in terms of behaviors promoting and undermining autonomy relatedness), and stress responses (cortisol reactivity) during a parent-child conflict interaction task (Family Interaction Task). Participants were 40 mothers and 28 fathers, who took part in the study together with their adolescent children (N = 49). Mothers had significantly lower PRF and displayed more psychologically controlling behaviors in the interaction with their children than fathers. Rather than sex per se, high levels of PRF were the best predictors of autonomy support, whereas lower levels of PRF predicted more psychological control. Higher levels of PRF were also the best predictor for lower levels of parenting stress. Stress in the context of parenting was neither related to autonomy support nor to psychological control, which were best predicted by divorced family status. The findings point to the potential utility of interventions aimed at improving PRF and stress management in the context of parenting, especially in divorced families, given their protective effects on parenting behaviors. [less ▲]

Disorganized attachment in adolescence: Emotional and physiological dysregulation during the Friends and Family Interview and a conflict interaction

in Development and Psychopathology (2020), 34(1), 431-445

The current study examined the effects of attachment on autonomy, relatedness and emotion regulation during an attachment interview (Friends and Family Interview; FFI) and a parent-child conflict ... [more ▼]

The current study examined the effects of attachment on autonomy, relatedness and emotion regulation during an attachment interview (Friends and Family Interview; FFI) and a parent-child conflict interaction (Family Interaction Task; FIT) in 49 adolescents (11 to 17 years old). Disorganized adolescents showed a steeper decrease in heart rate variability (HRV) than organized ones, during both the FFI and the FITs. Dismissing adolescents showed a more pronounced decrease in HRV during the FFI than secure and preoccupied individuals; no differences were found between these groups in HRV during the FITs. The results suggest that disorganized adolescents had more difficulties in regulating their emotions during both the FFI and the FITs, whereas dismissing individuals seemed effectively challenged only during the interview. [less ▲]

Mental health and wellbeing during adolescence: Research protocol and preliminary results

Poster (2017)