1-093 - Parental Mind-Mindedness: Stability, Correlates and Outcomes

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Parental Mind-mindedness (MM) is defined as the psychological process underlying the capacity to understand mental states – such as emotions, thoughts, and motivations – in the self and in others. Using longitudinal data from four countries, this symposium will discuss the following questions: Is MM stable over time? Are there certain parental characteristics that correlate with MM? Does MM predict children’s outcome over time?
Paper 1 examines the stability of MM through the first 5 years of life in an American longitudinal sample, using the traditional MM coding system, as well as a new tool for assessing MM in preschoolers. Preliminary results indicated that MM was stable over time and across the different assessment contexts.
Paper 2 addresses the maternal cognitive mechanisms underlying MM. It is proposed that to develop MM, parents need to strengthen some of their executive functions. Using an Israeli sample, preliminary results indicated that inhibition and memory-updating, in particular, were related to early maternal MM.
Paper 3 follows first-time British parents throughout the transition to parenthood, investigating some core issues in MM: MM stability over time, concordance between interactional and representational MM, and maternal versus paternal MM will be discussed. In addition, results indicate that pre-birth MM predicts infants’ early social and attentional abilities.
Paper 4 focuses on MM and children’s outcomes, using a Canadian sample. A five-wave mediation model was proposed, linking maternal MM during infancy to children’s school readiness in kindergarten, via child language and effortful control in toddlerhood and the preschool years.

Sub Unit

• Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Chair

• Naama Atzaba-Poria, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Individual Presentations

• Longitudinal Stability in Mothers’ Mind-Mindedness - Presenting Author: Elizabeth Meins, York University; Sarah Fishburn, University of York; Charles Fernyhough, Durham University

• Examination of the Cognitive Processes Behind Maternal Mind-mindedness: The Role of Mothers’ Executive Functioning - Presenting Author: Tal Yatziv, Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Zlotowski Center for Neuroscience, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Yoav Kessler, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev; Naama Atzaba-Poria, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

• Parental Mind-Mindedness: Measurement, Gender Differences and Associations with Infant Outcomes - Presenting Author: Sarah Foley, Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge; Rory Thomas Devine, University of Cambridge; Claire Hughes, University of Cambridge

• Maternal Mind-Mindedness and Children’s School Readiness: A Longitudinal Study of Developmental Processes - Presenting Author: Annie Bernier, University of Montreal; Catherine A. McMahon, Macquarie University, Australia; Rachel Perrier, University of Montreal