Contextual determinants of parental reflective functioning: Children with autism versus their typically developing siblings.

In this study, we examined parental reflective functioning using the Parental Developmental Interview when parents were talking about their interactions with their child with autism versus the child's typically developing siblings. Our sample included 30 parents who had a child between the ages of 3 and 18 years with a clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and at least one typically developing child. Findings indicated that parents exhibited significantly higher reflective functioning when interacting with their child with autism spectrum disorder versus the typically developing siblings, and the difference was moderated by parental self-efficacy.

A non randomized mentalization intervention for parents of children with autism.

Parents of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) report higher levels of stress and other negative affective states than parents of typically developing children. One important resource in managing these heightened levels of negative affect is emotion regulation, which in turn depends upon the ability to recognize and understand one's own and others' mental states (referred to as mentalization or reflective functioning). In this study, parents of children with ASD either participated in a mentalization-based group intervention (N = 36) or a delayed treatment (N = 28).

Interpersonal deficits meet cognitive biases: memory for facial expressions in depressed and anxious men and women.

Memory biases for negatively vs. positively valenced linguistic information in depression are well documented. However, no study so far has examined the relationship between depression and memory for facial expressions.