The Relationship between Parental Stress and Child’s Behavioral Problems with the Moderating Role of Maternal Reflective Functioning: A Descriptive Study

The mother's parenting stress can lead to children's behavioral problems, and among these, variables related to the parent-child relationship can be a moderator. The present study aimed to determine the moderating role of the components of maternal reflective functioning in the relationship between the mother's parenting stress and the child's behavioral problems.

The current research is descriptive. Based on the convenience sampling method, 200 mothers who visited the children's clinics in Tehran in 2023 were selected and completed questionnaires of Parental Reflective Functioning, Parental Stress, and Child Behavior Checklist. Data analysis was performed using correlation tests and hierarchical regression.

 There was significant a positive relationship between mother's parental stress and pre-mentalizing (r=0.31, p<0.001) and certainty of mental states (r=0.32, p<0.001), and a significant negative relationship between mother's parental stress and interest and curiosity in mental states (r=-0.34, p<0.001). Moreover, there was a significant positive relationship between parental stress and child's behavioral problems (r=0.47, p<0.001), and child's behavioral problems and pre-mentalizing (r=0.26, p<0.001) and certainty of mental states (r=0.30, p<0.001), and there was a significant negative relationship between parental stress and interest and curiosity in mental states (r=-0.28, p<0.001). The moderating role of pre-mentalizing components (p=0.041) and certainty in recognizing mental states (p=0.035) in the relationship between parental stress and the child's behavioral problems was also confirmed.

The mother's low reflective functioning and parental stress can increase the probability of behavioral problems in children. Parental stress in mothers who have lower reflective functioning has a more negative effect on children's behavioral problems. Therefore, it is recommended to pay attention to teaching reflective functioning to mothers.