The Relationship Between Psychological Flexibility and Parental Reflective Functioning, and Their Association With Parental Stress

The present study aimed to explore the relationship between psychological flexibility (PF), parental reflective functioning (PRF) and their independent associations with parental stress. PF is described as the process of noticing and accepting thoughts and feelings and continuing to act in line with one’s values. While PRF involves: Pre-mentalising (PM), Certainty about mental states (CMS) and Interest and curiosity in mental states (IC). A total of 362 parent/carers of children aged 0–10 years old completed an online questionnaire. There were significant correlations with all aspects of PRF (higher PM, lower IC and lower CMS), and lower PF, with higher levels of parental stress. When considering covariates and both constructs in the regression model, PF and aspects of PRF (PM and CMS subscales) still independently predicted parental stress. Lastly, PF significantly correlated with all aspects of PRF (lower PM, higher CMS and IC). The results suggest that the constructs of PRF and PF, despite their overlap, appear to have partially independent associations with parental stress. Therefore, this study is tentatively supportive of a rationale for integrating both relevant theoretical models within parenting interventions, in order to provide additive benefit in alleviating parenting stress.