PL EN
ARTICLE
Characteristics of mentalization patterns in parents of children with difficulties in realizing developmental objectives of the latency stage - qualitative analysis results
 
 
More details
Hide details
1
Katedra Psychiatrii UJ CM
 
2
Zakład Terapii Rodzin, Klinika Psychiatrii Szpitala Uniwersyteckiego w Krakowie
 
3
Zakład Hospitalizacji Domowej, Klinika Psychiatrii Szpitala Uniwersyteckiego w Krakowie
 
 
Submission date: 2015-01-18
 
 
Final revision date: 2015-02-15
 
 
Acceptance date: 2015-02-17
 
 
Publication date: 2016-06-08
 
 
Corresponding author
Karolina Dejko   

Katedra Psychiatrii, Wydział Lekarski Collegium Medicum Uniwersytet Jagielloński, ul. Bandurskiego 66/10, 31-515 Kraków, Polska
 
 
Psychiatr Pol 2016;50(3):597-606
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Objectives:
The aim of the study was to answer the question about the ability to mentalize emotional states in parents of children with difficulties in realizing developmental objectives of the latency stage. The research was exploratory in nature; the aim was formulated on the basis of notions from the field literature indicating a correlation between the attachment style and the ability to mentalize in the parents and psychosocial functioning of their children.

Methods:
The structured Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) was used as the main tool for the research. The analysis was performed with the Reflective Functioning Scale. Total of 9 narrations obtained through AAI were subjected to qualitative analysis.

Results:
The conducted analysis showed that parents of children with difficulties in realizing developmental objectives of the latency stage are characterized by reduced mentalization skills. The mentalization pattern isolated in the analysis, characteristic for the studied group encompasses the tendency towards idealization, generalization, describing the relation at the behavioural level and avoidance of reflecting upon mental states experienced in the context of early attachment relations, and the lack of coherence. Difficulties in mentalization of relationships mainly concern the relation with the mother. Relations established later in life are better mentalized than the early relations with parents.

Conclusions:
Observed disturbance in mentalization may suggest possible disturbances in the process of reflecting and containing in the early developmental stages of the examined persons. Mentalization skills were developed later in life of the examined persons. Idealization turned out to be the process that is most impacting and interfering with free reflections upon one’s own emotions and emotions of the others (including those of one’s own child).

eISSN:2391-5854
ISSN:0033-2674
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top