TY - JOUR
T1 - Advancing optimal development in children
T2 - Examining the construct validity of a parent reflective functioning questionnaire
AU - de Roo, Monica
AU - Wong, Gina
AU - Rempel, Gwen R.
AU - Fraser, Shawn N.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Monica De Roo, Gina Wong, Gwen R Rempel, Shawn N Fraser.
PY - 2019/1
Y1 - 2019/1
N2 - Background: Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is the capacity parents have to understand their own mental states and those of their children, as well as the influence of those mental states on behavior. Parents with greater capacity for PRF are more likely to foster secure attachment with their children. The Parental Development Interview is a gold standard measure of PRF but is hampered by cost, training, and length of administration. The 18-item Parent Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ-18) is a simpler option developed to capture 3 types of PRF: (1) prementalizing, (2) parent’s certainty, and (3) interest and curiosity surrounding a child’s mental state. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and select psychometric properties of the PRFQ in a sample of Canadian parents. Methods: We examined the factor structure and discriminant and construct validity of the PRFQ-18 among 306 parents (males=120 and females=186) across Canada; the age range of children was 0 to 12 years. Parents also completed Web-based measures of perceived stress, parental coping, parenting competence, and social support. Results: A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the hypothesized 3-factor structure of the PRFQ-18 providing evidence that the PRFQ-18 may be a useful and practical measure of PRF in Canadian adults and showed minor revisions may improve the suitability of the PRFQ-18 for assessing PRF. Conclusions: These results add support for the construct validity of the PRFQ-18.
AB - Background: Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is the capacity parents have to understand their own mental states and those of their children, as well as the influence of those mental states on behavior. Parents with greater capacity for PRF are more likely to foster secure attachment with their children. The Parental Development Interview is a gold standard measure of PRF but is hampered by cost, training, and length of administration. The 18-item Parent Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (PRFQ-18) is a simpler option developed to capture 3 types of PRF: (1) prementalizing, (2) parent’s certainty, and (3) interest and curiosity surrounding a child’s mental state. Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and select psychometric properties of the PRFQ in a sample of Canadian parents. Methods: We examined the factor structure and discriminant and construct validity of the PRFQ-18 among 306 parents (males=120 and females=186) across Canada; the age range of children was 0 to 12 years. Parents also completed Web-based measures of perceived stress, parental coping, parenting competence, and social support. Results: A confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the hypothesized 3-factor structure of the PRFQ-18 providing evidence that the PRFQ-18 may be a useful and practical measure of PRF in Canadian adults and showed minor revisions may improve the suitability of the PRFQ-18 for assessing PRF. Conclusions: These results add support for the construct validity of the PRFQ-18.
KW - Mentalization
KW - Parent reflective functioning
KW - Parenting
KW - Questionnaire design
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85097157697&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2196/11561
DO - 10.2196/11561
M3 - Journal Article
AN - SCOPUS:85097157697
VL - 2
JO - JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting
JF - JMIR Pediatrics and Parenting
IS - 1
M1 - e11561
ER -