Abstract Parental mentalization has been identified as a key mechanism in attachment transmission (Sharp Van IJzendoorn Luyten et al., 2017) and observed and representational mind‐mindedness (Meins & Fernyhough, 2015). Results revealed an association between parent attachment and psychological distress and an association between parent attachment and mentalizing. Support for psychological distress moderating the relationship between attachment and mentalizing was also found for parents’ non‐attuned mind‐mindedness, and the PRFQ measures of interest and curiosity. These findings align with existing research underscoring the role of parental mentalizing in the transmission of attachment and highlight the potential vulnerability of parental mentalization capacities to fluctuations in mental health, even among individuals with autonomous attachment representations.
Parkin et al. (Wed,) studied this question.