Case Report: A Case Study Significance of the Reflective Parenting for the Child Development

There are studies that connect the “child” in the past with the “parent” in the present through the prism of high levels of stress, guilt, anxiety. This raises the question of the experiences and internal work patterns formed in childhood and developed through parenthood at a later stage. The article (case study) presents the quality of parental capacity of a family raising a child with an autism spectrum. The abilities of parents (the emphasis is on the mother) to recognize and differentiate the mental states of their non-verbal child are discussed. An analysis of the parental representations for the child and the parent–child relationship is developed. The parameters of reflective parenting are measured. The methodology provides good opportunities for identifying deficits in two aspects: parenting and the functioning of the child itself. Without their establishment, therapy could not have a clear perspective. An integrative approach for psychological support of the child and his family is presented: psychological work with the child on the main areas of functioning, in parallel with the therapy conducted with the parents and the mother, as the main caregiver. The changes for the described period are indicated, which are related to the improvement of the parental capacity in the mother and the progress in the therapy in the child. A prognosis for ongoing therapy is given, as well as topics that have arisen in the process of diagnostic procedures.

Short Version of the Inventory of Parental Representations for Attachment Assessment Among Adolescents

Background: The Inventory of Parental Representations (IPR), a self-administered questionnaire, was developed primarily to identify styles of attachment in adolescence. However, it did not present stable psychometric properties in the various American studies carried out. The aim of this study was to adapt the IPR in French and to provide a shorter version with improved psychometric properties and a sound content.Methods: The content validity was carried out by an expert committee and 10 adolescents. The study of the metric properties of the French version of the IPR was realized in a sample of 275 responses. In case of mediocre results in the CFA of the existing structures, the development of a new IPR structure was planned (Classical Test Theory and Rasch Modelling).Results: Out of 62 items translated, 13 needed adaptation. The analysis of its metric properties produced mediocre results. In a group of 275 adolescent’s responses, a step-by-step process was implemented. Content and psychometric property analyses generated a paternal Short-IPRF (15 items) and a maternal Short-IPRM (16 items) scale with sound content and good psychometric properties confirmed in an independent sample of 795 responses (Short-IPRF: Comparative Fit Index (CFI)=0.987, Tucker-Lewis Index (TLI)=0.982, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA)=0.027; Short-IPRM: CFI=0.953, TLI=0.927, RMSEA=0.068). Using Rasch modelling, the attachment was correctly measured overall especially for insecure attachment. Conclusions: A step-by-step process involving both content analysis and psychometric property analysis led to the generation of two questionnaires, a paternal scale, the Short-IPRF, and a maternal scale, the Short-IPRM.

Predictive and Incremental Validity of Parental Representations During Pregnancy on Child Attachment

Parental pre-natal representations predict the interactive patterns that parents will put in place after childbirth. Early interactions defined by high parental emotional availability (EA) influence the development of security in children. To date, research on the predictive role of parental pre-natal representations on child attachment is still poor. Moreover, investigations on pre-natal representations have mainly focused on mothers. This study aimed at: investigating the criterion validity of the Interview of Maternal Representations During Pregnancy-Revised (IRMAG-R) and of the Interview of Paternal Representations During Pregnancy (IRPAG), using EA, parental attachment, and child attachment toward both parents, as criteria; testing the incremental validity of the IRMAG-R and IRPAG in the prediction of child attachment, controlling for other covariates, such as depressive and anxious levels during pregnancy, EA, and parental attachment; evaluating the possible mediation role of EA on the relationship between parental representations during pregnancy and child attachment. Fifty couples of primiparous parents were recruited during pregnancy, when the IRMAG-R and IRPAG were administered to mothers and fathers. At 6–9 months after childbirth, the mother–child and father–child interactions were coded by means of the EA Scales (EAS). At 14–18 after childbirth, the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was administered to parents, and the Strange Situation Procedure (SSP) was carried out to assess children's attachment toward mothers and fathers, respectively. The results showed significant correlations between parental pre-natal representations and EA, parental attachment and child attachment. As regards the prediction of child attachment, the IRMAG-R/IRPAG categories showed: a significant and large unique contribution for maternal representations; a close to be significant contribution for paternal representations (with a higher effect size for mothers than fathers). Moreover, while the indirect effect of pre-natal representations in the prediction of child attachment was not significant for mothers, it was instead significant for fathers. The results of this study confirmed the criterion validity of the IRMAG-R and IRPAG, and supported the incremental validity of the IRMAG-R and IRPAG in the prediction of children's attachment categories. Finally, the mediation models revealed that EA did not mediate the relationship between maternal pre-natal representations and child attachment, while it totally mediated the relationship between paternal pre-natal representations and child attachment.

Decoding and understanding the causes of emotions

An attempt to analyse mental representations of basic emotions – joy and fear – is made in terms of child-parent relations. On the basis of theoretical analysis the possible levels and components in the views of parents about the emotions of preschool children are identified. The importance and significance of parents' knowledge about the causes and patterns of emotional behaviour in children are indicated. The scheme of the pilot study is proposed, the procedure of the survey based on written verbal reports is described. The qualitative-quantitative, comparative analysis of the selected units in the mental representations of parents about the reasons for the demonstration and the basis for their recognition (decoding) is given. The proposed thesaurus of situations that contribute to experiencing emotions of joy, fear. The main patterns in the demonstration of emotional behaviour of children, according to parental representations are revealed. The data obtained correlate with the results of previous studies on problems in the field of child-parent relations, psychology of emotions and can be applied in practice.

Maternal Representations and Parenting Style in Children Born With and Without an Orofacial Cleft

Objective: To investigate the evolution of maternal representations (ie, the way parents perceive their child in term of temperament, character, behaviors, etc) of children with a cleft at 3 major milestones: before/after reconstructive surgeries and at school age. Parenting style was also analyzed and compared with parents of children born without a cleft. Design and participants: The sample was composed of 30 mothers of children with an orofacial cleft and 14 mothers of children without a cleft. Maternal representations were assessed when the child was 2 months (before surgery), 12 months (after surgery), and 5 years of age (when starting school) using semistructured interviews that were transcribed and coded according to the subscales of the Working Model of the Child Interview and the Parental Development Interview. At the 5-year appointment, mothers also completed a questionnaire about parenting style. Results: Results showed no difference across groups (cleft/noncleft) in maternal representations at the 2-month, 12-month, and 5-year assessments. In the cleft group, significant differences were shown between 2 and 12 months in caregiving sensitivity, perceived infant difficulty, fear for the infant’s safety, and parental pride, all factors being higher at 12 months. Those differences in parental representations over time were not found in the noncleft group. Additionally, mothers of the cleft group were significantly more authoritarian than mothers of children without a cleft. Conclusion: The absence of differences across cleft and noncleft groups suggests that having a child with a cleft does not affect maternal representations and emotions between 2 months and 5 years of the child’s age. However, parenting style seems to be influenced by the presence of a cleft in the present sample.

Are adult mentalizing abilities associated with mind-mindedness?

The precise nature of the relation between adult mentalizing abilities and parental representations of the child as a mental agent (mind-mindedness) is under current debate. While some authors state that it is the same competence expressed in different contexts, others assert that they are different constructs. This study examined the relation between mentalizing and mind-mindedness, in mothers and fathers, while investigating their potential links to socio-demographic, parental, and child variables. Participants were 74 families comprising of mother, father, and their preschool-aged child. Controlling for educational level, psychopathological symptoms, and children’s reported temperament, the relation between mentalizing and mind-mindedness was non-significant. Moreover, mentalizing and mind-mindedness were shown to have distinct correlates, supporting the proposal that they are two distinct constructs.