Interrelationships between mentalizing capacity, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and coparenting in parents of school aged children

Mentalization (the ability to hold in mind and interpret one's own and others' mental states in order to make sense of behaviour) has been consistently linked with the development of secure parent-infant attachment as well as with adult mental health.

Citation:
De Palma M, Izett E, Rooney R, McDevitt M, Mancini V. Interrelationships between mentalizing capacity, symptoms of depression and anxiety, and coparenting in parents of school aged children. Front Psychol. 2026;17.

Keywords:
Anxiety; coparenting; depression; parent mental health; reflective functioning

Abstract:
Mentalization (the ability to hold in mind and interpret one's own and others' mental states in order to make sense of behaviour) has been consistently linked with the development of secure parent-infant attachment as well as with adult mental health.