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A four-year multi-wave prospective study on the role of parental reflective functioning and parenting stress in the development of socio-emotional problems in internationally adopted children.

Saskia MalcorpsNicole VliegenFonagy PPatrick Luyten
Published in: Development and psychopathology (2022)
Parental reflective functioning (PRF) plays a protective role in the development of children with histories of early adversity, including adopted children. This is the first study to investigate the developmental trajectories of PRF and children's socio-emotional problems in the first 4 years after international adoption ( N = 48 families, mean age (T1) = 20.7 months) and to examine the mediating role of parenting stress in the relation between PRF and child socio-emotional problems. Multilevel modeling indicated that age at adoption and parent gender moderated the development of PRF and child socio-emotional problems. Moreover, decreases in PRF were associated with more socio-emotional problems in the children. These relations were mediated by parenting stress, and particularly feelings of incompetence and marital dissatisfaction.
Keyphrases
  • mental health
  • young adults
  • depressive symptoms
  • electronic health record
  • stress induced