Investigating the association between parental reflective functioning and distress tolerance in motherhood

• Published in: Infant behavior & development Vol. 40; pp. 54 - 63
• Main Authors: Rutherford, Helena J.V., Booth, Cortney R., Luyten, Patrick, Bridgett, David J., Mayes, Linda C.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.08.2015
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological - physiology; Adult; Affect regulation; Baby simulator/BSIM; Blood Pressure; Child; Distress tolerance; Female; Heart Rate; Humans; Mother-Child Relations - psychology; Motherhood; Mothers - psychology; Parental reflective functioning; Parenting - psychology; Self Report; Stress, Psychological - physiopathology; Stress, Psychological - psychology; Distress tolerance; Affect regulation; Motherhood; Parental reflective functioning; Baby simulator/BSIM
• ISSN: 0163-6383; 1879-0453; 1934-8800
• DOI: 10.1016/j.infbeh.2015.04.005

•Parental reflective functioning (RF) may support adaptive parenting behavior.•Preliminary data suggests parental RF is associated with distress tolerance (DT).•Parental RF was examined as a function of multiple measures of DT.•Pre-mentalizing was consistently associated with lower levels of DT.•Findings confirm the relationship between RF and DT in recent parents. Parental reflective functioning, referring to the capacity of a parent to consider their child's mental states as they relate to their behavior, may support sensitive and adaptive parenting. We investigated the relationship between parental reflective functioning and tolerance of distress in a sample of recent mothers (N=59). Participants completed self-report measures of parental reflective functioning and distress tolerance, as well as two behavioral distress tolerance tasks. We also examined blood pressure and heart rate during the laboratory session. Mothers reporting more difficulty in recognizing and understanding their child's mental states displayed decreased tolerance of distress on our behavioral and self-report measures. Further, we found evidence of a relationship between these measures and assessments of peripheral physiology. These findings are discussed in the context of reflective functioning and distress tolerance in parenthood, and their implications for parenting interventions.