Melwani, Samara;
(2022)
Maternal mind-mindedness as a predictor of child behavioural and cognitive outcomes in a socio-economically disadvantaged population.
Doctoral thesis (D.Clin.Psy), UCL (University College London).
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Abstract
Aims: Childhood abuse has been shown to be associated with a range of aspects of social cognition in adulthood. Among them, mentalization – the ability to attend to and interpret one’s own behavior and the behavior of others in terms of mental states – has been a popular topic of research. However, the literature remains limited to single dimensions of mentalization, as opposed to the broader multi-dimensional concept, and there has been no systematic review or meta-analysis on this topic. Methods: This multilevel meta-analysis provides a synthesis of all empirical literature examining the relationship between childhood abuse and mentalization abilities in the general adult population. Mentalization was operationalized using 8 distinct constructs: reflective functioning, mentalization, mind-mindedness, insightfulness, social cognition, theory of mind, alexithymia, and emotion recognition. Systematic electronic searches were conducted across 5 databases, and 57 outcomes across a total of 27 studies were included. An additional metaanalysis was also conducted examining the relationship between general childhood maltreatment, as distinct childhood from abuse, and mentalization in adulthood. Results: A significant weighted average correlation of r=.14, 95%CI [.09, .19] was found for the relationship between childhood abuse and adult mentalization, representing a small effect size. Moderation analyses revealed that younger participants, members of minority groups, and female participants reported poorer mentalization in adulthood after childhood abuse. An additional meta-analysis examining the relationships between general childhood maltreatment and mentalization in adulthood reviewed 18 studies and yielded a significant weighted average correlation of r=0.17, 95%CI [.07, .27]. Conclusions: The current meta-analysis confirms that childhood abuse and childhood maltreatment are both associated with poorer mentalization in adulthood. The results contribute clinically to the shape and form of early interventions and treatments. Future research may seek to compare the effects of abuse and neglect, and account for a clinical population.
| Type: | Thesis (Doctoral) |
|---|---|
| Qualification: | D.Clin.Psy |
| Title: | Maternal mind-mindedness as a predictor of child behavioural and cognitive outcomes in a socio-economically disadvantaged population |
| Open access status: | An open access version is available from UCL Discovery |
| Language: | English |
| Additional information: | Copyright © The Author 2022. Original content in this thesis is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) Licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/). Any third-party copyright material present remains the property of its respective owner(s) and is licensed under its existing terms. Access may initially be restricted at the author’s request. |
| UCL classification: | UCL UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > Div of Psychology and Lang Sciences |
| URI: | https://discovery-pp.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10161785 |
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