The Effect of Maternal Self-differentiation on Perceived Adolescent Children’s Psychological Health: Sequential Mediating Effect of Mentalization and Parenting Behavior

The purpose of this study was to verify the sequential mediating effect of mentalization and parenting behavior in the effect of maternal self-differentiation on perceived adolescent children's psychological health. The data were collected from 200 mothers with a middle schooler nationwide. The research model was verified with Process Macro model 6 and the significance of the mediating effect was confirmed through bootstrapping. The results was found that maternal self-differentiation directly affects on perceived adolescent children's psychological health. While the mediating effect of maternal mentalization in the relationship between maternal self-differentiation and children's psychological health was not significant, the indirect effect of parenting behavior was significant, and the sequential mediating effect of mentalization and parenting behavior was significant. Additionally, there were differences in maternal factors and pathways in affecting perceived children's psychological health according to the children's gender. The results of this study suggest that interventions that promote desirable parenting behavior by reflecting their experiences in family-of-origin, raising the level of mentalization, and understanding the children's gender differences can be effective in improving adolescent children's psychological health.