Attachment and mentalization capacity of teachers and social workers in context of special education with focus on social-emotional development

The article presents a quantitative study design with focus on the attachment styles and mentalization capabilities of 80 teachers and social workers in context of special education. The data were collected using the Experiences in Close Relationships-Revised (ECR-RD, Ehrenthal, Dinger, Lamla, Funken & Schauburg, 2009), the Relationship Questionnaire 2 (RQ2, Bartholomew & Horowitz, 1991) and the Mentalization Questionnaire (MZQ, Hausberg et al., 2012). The results show a tendency towards attachment security and high mentalization capabilities. Furthermore, the results show that attachment insecurity correlates negatively with mentalizing capability.