PARENT’S ATTACHMENT AND MENTALIZATION AS PREDICTORS OF PARENTING STYLES
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Abstract
The aim of this study is to examine whether a tendency towards a certain parenting style can be predicted based on a parent’s attachment and mentalization capacity. The study included 122 respondents, 79 female, 43 male, aged from 29 to 54, who were parents of children up to 12 years of age. The data was collected using the following instruments: The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ); The Serbian modified and adapted version of the Experiences in Close Relationships questionnaire (SM-ECR-R) and the Mentalization scale (MentS). A regression analysis was applied to test the predictive power of dimensions of attachment and mentalization for each parenting style. The model that explains the variance of authoritative parenting style (23%) contains anxiety and mentalization of others as predictors (R2 = .23, F (2, 119) = 17.63, p ˂ .001, ∆R 2 = .06, p = .004). Lower anxiety (β = -.24, t = -2.97, p = .004) and greater capacity for mentalization of others (β = .41, t = 5.08, p ˂.001) contribute to the tendency towards the authoritative parenting style. The model that explains the variance of authoritarian parenting style (22%) contains anxiety, motivation to mentalize and avoidance as predictors (R2 = .22, F (3, 118) = 10.84, p ˂ .001, ∆R2 = .04, p = .029). Higher anxiety (β = .46, t = 5.36, p ˂.001), lower motivation for mentalization (β = -.26, t = -2.98, p =.003), and lower avoidance (β = -.20, t = -2.21, p =.029) contribute towards the authoritarian parenting style. The conclusion of the study is that, based on a parent’s attachment and mentalization, a tendency towards a certain parenting style can be predicted.