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The Role of Reflective Functioning in Predicting Marital and Coparenting Quality

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Abstract

Reflective functioning (RF) is a measure of mentalization—the capacity to think about one’s own and others’ thoughts and feelings and to understand the connections between mental states and behaviors. Previous research indicates a decline in marital quality across the transition to parenthood, and some studies have found that parents are less happy than non-parents. Thus, researchers have called for research into possible moderators of these patterns. RF may help couples navigate this transition by more easily taking each other’s (and the infant’s) perspective and understanding each other’s behaviors. Much of the research on RF has focused on mothering behavior; research has not yet examined associations between RF and other family interactions. We examined associations between RF and marital and coparenting quality for both wives and husbands. Reflective functioning was coded from Adult Attachment Interviews conducted during pregnancy. We assessed marital quality at 3.5 months, and coparenting quality at 13 months, after the birth of the target child. Wives’ higher RF was associated with higher levels of positive—and lower levels of negative—marital and coparenting interactions. Wives who were better able to reflect on their early experiences with their parents were involved in marital interactions that were more positive and supportive and less conflicted and undermining. Husbands’ RF did not predict marital or coparenting quality. These findings highlight the importance of reflective functioning in understanding family functioning.

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Acknowledgements

Author Contributions

A.J.: coded reflective functioning; analyzed data, wrote the paper. S.C.M.: designed the study, supervised coding and analyses; provided feedback on the paper. M.S.W.: aided in designing the study, collected data. S.S.S.: aided in designing the study, collected data. A.S.: aided in designing the study, collected and coded data. G.L.B.: aided in designing the study, collected data.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of St. Thomas, 2115 Summit Ave JRC LL56, St. Paul, MN, 55105, USA

    Allison Jessee

  2. University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI, USA

    Sarah C. Mangelsdorf

  3. Stevenson University, Stevenson, MD, USA

    Maria S. Wong

  4. The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA

    Sarah J. Schoppe-Sullivan

  5. Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA

    Aya Shigeto

  6. University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA

    Geoffrey L. Brown

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  1. Allison Jessee
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  2. Sarah C. Mangelsdorf
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  6. Geoffrey L. Brown
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Correspondence to Allison Jessee.

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All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. IRB approval was received from the University of Illinois.

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Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Jessee, A., Mangelsdorf, S.C., Wong, M.S. et al. The Role of Reflective Functioning in Predicting Marital and Coparenting Quality. J Child Fam Stud 27, 187–197 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-017-0874-6

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