DEVELOPMENTAL QUALITY OF PARENTAL REFLECTIVE FUNCTIONING OF MOTHERS OF CHILDREN DIAGNOSED WITH REACTIVE ATTACHMENT DISORDER

This study explores the relationship between Parental Reflective Functioning (PRF) and Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD). A new scoring system, the "Developmental quality of the parental reflective functioning" (DQPRF; Leroux & Terradas, 2012), has been applied to the "Parent Development Interview" (PDI). This system assesses the predominance of pre-mentalizing modes of thinking, namely psychic equivalence and pretend mode. The protocols of seven mothers whose children suffer from RAD have been analysed using the RF Scoring System proposed by Slade, Bernbach, Grienenberger, Levy, and Locker (2005) as well as the new grid. Both measures are highly correlated. More data is needed to conclude. However, the DQPRF seems to be a relevant conceptual tool for clinicians and a promising instrument for research. Excerpts from two protocols illustrate the use of the new tool.