The relationship of parental reflective capacity and couple's satisfaction: A survey based on attachment theory

Abstract

This study aims at exploring the relationship between parental reflective functioning (PRF), parental couples' satisfaction and the association of both variables with parental attachment styles using self-report questionnaires (i.e., PRF Questionnaire: PRFQ, Couples Satisfaction Index: CSI and Attachment Styles Questionnaire: ASQ respectively). Questionnaires were translated into Greek. Internal consistency of the Greek versions was found to be acceptable to high in all but the PRFQ questionnaire. However, factor analysis of the PRFQ indicated a similar factor structure with the original English version. Participants were 55 mothers and 18 fathers of preschoolers. Person's correlations, simple regression and t-tests showed significant relationships between the PRFO CMS subscale and one of the ASO's dimensions and between the PRFQ Pre-Mentalization subscale and the CSI total scores. No other significant correlations were found, possibly due to the use of the short version of CSI and translation limitations with certain questionnaire items.