1. Objectifs

Intentions :
«This study’s general objective was to assess the relative contributions of mothers’ and youths’ RF [reflective functioning] to child and adolescent anxiety (disorder and symptoms) and internalizing difficulties (anxious and depressive symptoms), while controlling for attachment.» (p. 3)

Questions/Hypothèses :
Authors «hypothesized that the presence of an anxiety disorder and a higher level of internalizing symptoms (anxiety and depression) would be predicted by lower mothers’ RF, and by lower youths’ global and self-related RF.» (p. 7)

2. Méthode

Échantillon/Matériau :
«As part of a larger study, 30 children and adolescents (18 girls) with a diagnosed anxiety disorder […] and their mothers (n=30) were recruited by psychiatrists of an outpatient clinic specializing in the assessment and treatment of anxiety disorders at Sainte-Justine University Hospital (Montreal, Canada). To participate in the study, youths had to be aged between 8 and 16 years […].» (p. 3) This clinical group were compared to a comparison group composed of 23 healthy children and adolescents aged between 8 and 16 years (16 boys) and their mothers (n=21).

Instruments :
Questionnaires

Type de traitement des données :
Analyse statistique

3. Résumé

«Results partially confirmed [the] hypotheses. [Indeed,] results showed no difference in the RF abilities of clinically anxious and non-anxious youths, and an unexpected, positive, association between self-related RF and internalizing difficulties. […] Unexpectedly, the only association of RF with symptoms was found between youths’ RF-Self and internalizing difficulties. Indeed, youths with better RF capacities regarding self reported more internalizing symptoms, even after controlling for mother’s attachment. This effect remained marginally significant after controlling for both maternal attachment and youth’s gender.» (p. 7) Moreover, authors «found no association between mothers’ RF and youths’ anxiety (disorder or symptoms) and internalizing difficulties more broadly. The older age of youths in our sample might lessen this association. Parents’ RF is thought to be determinant in the emotional co-regulation process within the attachment relationship in the early years […]. thinking, making them better at understanding, regulating, and reflecting on their own and others’ mental states […]. RF is expected to be well developed by the age of 7 or 8 years old and to become more sophisticated during early adolescence […]. Thus, as they age, children’s psychological adjustment would be less related to their parents’ RF abilities than to their own. In line with this idea of a reduced impact of parental RF as children age, there was no association between mothers’ RF and youths’ attachment security in the present study.» (p. 8-9)