The impact of maternal reflective functioning on mother -infant affective communication: Exploring the link between mental states and observed caregiving behavior.
Item
-
Title
-
The impact of maternal reflective functioning on mother -infant affective communication: Exploring the link between mental states and observed caregiving behavior.
-
Identifier
-
AAI3063835
-
identifier
-
3063835
-
Creator
-
Grienenberger, John Frederick.
-
Contributor
-
Adviser: Arietta Slade
-
Date
-
2002
-
Language
-
English
-
Publisher
-
City University of New York.
-
Subject
-
Psychology, Social | Psychology, Developmental | Psychology, Clinical
-
Abstract
-
The present study examines the link between maternal reflective functioning and the quality of mother-infant affective communication. Maternal reflective functioning is thought to provide a buffer against the emergence of disruptions in affective communication during times of infant distress. Affective communication is considered as a potential predictor of infant attachment security.;The subjects were forty-four middle-class mothers and their 10--14-month-old infants. The Addendum to the Reflective Functioning Scoring Manual, for use with the Parent Development Interview (Slade, Bernbach, Grienenberger, Wohlgemuth Levy, & Locker, 2001), was used to determine the level of maternal reflective functioning. The quality of maternal behavior was assessed by the Atypical Maternal Behavior Instrument for Assessment and Classification (AMBIANCE, Version 2) (Bronfman, Parsons, & Lyons-Ruth, 1999), which tracks disruptions in affective communication during the Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure (Ainsworth, Blehar, Waters, & Wall, 1978).;Results supported each of the study's major hypotheses. The AMBIANCE measure and the reflective functioning measure had a strong negative correlation. Thus, the level of disruption in mother-infant affective communication was inversely related to the level of maternal reflective functioning. The quality of maternal behavior was also shown to be a very good predictor of infant attachment. Mothers with high AMBIANCE scores were more likely to have infants classified as disorganized, avoidant, or resistant, whereas mothers with low AMBIANCE scores were more likely to have infants classified as secure. These results are discussed in relation to implications for developmental theory, psychoanalytic theory, and clinical treatment.
-
Type
-
dissertation
-
Source
-
PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
-
degree
-
Ph.D.
