Maternal Reflective Functioning and Attachment Security in Girls and Boys: A Closer Look into the Middle Childhood

Child attachment undergoes major changes during middle childhood. Maternal reflective functioning (RF) is hypothesized to be an important correlate of a child’s attachment security during this period; however, the child’s gender role in this association has not been examined yet. In the present study, we used 64 mother-child (6–11 years old) dyads from a community sample to analyze the association between maternal RF and child attachment security and whether this link is moderated by gender. Maternal RF was assessed on the Parent Development Interview Revised (PDI-R2) and child attachment classifications were examined by the Child Attachment Interview (CAI). Results revealed the positive and statistically significant association between maternal RF and child attachment security in the whole sample. Further evaluations of this link in the groups of girls and boys separately indicated its significance for girls only. Finally, moderation analysis demonstrated the relation between child attachment security and maternal RF to be moderated by gender. These findings provide a new knowledge on gender role in attachment security in relation to maternal RF as well as suggest possible differentiation in the correlates on the pathway of secure attachment between girls and boys during middle childhood.

Serial Dual Mediating Effects of Preschoolers’ Executive Functions and Counterfactual Thinking on Relationship between Maternal Reflective Functioning and Preschoolers’ Higher-order Thinking

This study examined the dual mediating effects of preschoolers’ executive function and counterfactual thinking in the relationship between maternal reflective functioning and preschoolers’ higher-order thinking. Participants included 293 preschoolers and their mothers in Daegu city and Gyeongsang province. The mothers completed questionnaires regarding their reflective functioning, preschoolers’ executive function, and creative thinking. Teachers completed questionnaires regarding preschoolers’ critical thinking and caring thinking. Preschoolers’ counterfactual thinking was measured by interviews. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation analysis with SPSS 25.0. Path analysis and bootstrapping were used with AMOS 25.0 program. Also, specific indirect effect were analyzed using AMOS user-defined estimand function. The primary results of this study are as follows. Maternal reflective functioning had an indirect effect on preschoolers’ critical thinking and caring thinking through preschoolers’ executive function and counterfactual thinking; however, maternal reflective functioning had no indirect effect on preschoolers’ creative thinking through preschoolers’ executive function and counterfactual thinking. This study revealed that maternal reflective functioning and preschoolers’ executive function and counterfactual thinking need to be considered simultaneously to explain the level of preschoolers’ higher-order thinking. The results highlight the dual mediating effects of preschoolers’ executive function and counterfactual thinking in the relationship between maternal reflective functioning and preschoolers’ higher-order thinking.