The relations between self- and caregiver- focused reflective function and theory of mind in the context of borderline pathology in adolescence.

Theory of mind (ToM) development is fostered by parent-child interactions characterized by accurate reflection on the child's mental states, or reflective function (RF), by the caregiver. Therefore, attachment-based RF is the foundation upon which children learn to reason about minds outside the attachment context (domain-general ToM). However, it is not known to what extent attachment-based RF of the self versus caregivers uniquely relates to domain-general ToM.