Abstract

The theory of mentalization, a relational approach to early development, refers to the ability of parents to consider and treat the child as a psychological agent motivated by mental states, which critically influences child development (Kristen et al, 2012). This ability of parents may be influenced by child characteristics that make them more likely than others to cause positive or negative parental emotions (Dix, 1991). Studies show that both the characteristics of the child as mentalizing ability of parents affect the psychosocial development of children (Sharp et al, 2008). The aim of this presentation is to describe the influence of some child’s variables (temperament and gender) and mother’s aspects (educational level and age) in mothers’ mentalization. Method: The sample is made up of 90 mothers with their children 12 months of age. It used a sociodemographic questionnaire, Parental Mentalization Scale (Farkas et al, in review), and Rothbart's Temperament Questionnaire (IBQ-VSF-R). Results: The relationship between mothers’ mentalization with mother’s age and educational level as well as child’s gender and temperament is presented. Discussions: The influence of these variables on the ability of mentalizing and the implications they have in the promotion and intervention in infant’s mental health is discussed.