Breaking the cycle of socioeconomic disadvantage: Parental reflexivity and motivation for change

Abstract Objective The goal was to deepen the understanding of parental reflexivity by examining the relationship between its components and their association with parental motivation to engage in interventions, while analyzing professionals' expectations and perceptions of families' progress, in socioeconomically disadvantaged contexts. Background Although it plays a crucial role in change processes, parental reflexivity—the ability of parents to critically self‐evaluate—is an understudied concept, particularly among at‐risk families. This highlights the relevance of expanding research in this area. Method Data were collected from 65 caregivers referred to child protective services and 43 professionals. Quantitative measures assessed parental reflective functioning, attributions, motivation for change, and practitioners' expectations of family progress. Pearson correlations, hierarchical multiple regression, and mediation analyses were performed to identify predictors of the variables of interest. Results Positive associations were found between dysfunctional parental attributions, motivation for change, and prementalizing. Prementalizing was indirectly associated with parental motivation to change child behavior through dysfunctional child‐responsible attributions. Conclusion Greater awareness of parental cognitions may increase motivation to modify both parental and child behavior, underlining the role of reflexivity in promoting change. Implications Addressing parental reflexivity in interventions targeting families may mitigate the risks associated with socioeconomic disadvantage by increasing parental availability to interventions that can promote more positive parent–child relationships.