Cultural Psychology

Cultural Psychology

Identifying the mentalization components of anxious mothers

Document Type : Original Article

Authors
Bahareh Anjomshoaa 1
Seyed Ali Kimiaiee 2
Parisa sadat Seyed Mousavi 3
Hossein Kareshki 4
1 Ph.D. student of Counseling, Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
2 . Associate Professor of Counseling, Dept. of Educational and Counseling Psychology, Faculty of Education Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
3 Faculty of Family Research Institute of Shahid Beheshti University
4 Associate Professor, Counseling and Educational Psychology Department, Faculty of Educational Sciences and Psychology, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad
10.30487/jcp.2024.388991.1557
Abstract
Anxiety is one of the things that can affect a wide range of a mother's performance, including the mentalization process between her and her child, and considering the importance of this capacity in mother-child interaction, the purpose of this research is to identify the components of mentalization in The relationship between an anxious mother and her child. This research was conducted qualitatively with thematic analysis method. The statistical population of this research was anxious mothers living in Tehran. In this research, using the purposeful sampling method, the researcher announced the call in three kindergartens and four psychological clinics in Tehran, and started sampling among anxious mothers and volunteers who had problems in establishing a normal relationship with their children. Sampling continued until data saturation was reached. 15 mothers were selected as a research sample with an age range of 27 to 42 years with an average age of 34.5. The data collection tool in this research was a semi-structured interview based on parent security and transformational cycle interviews. The main themes emerging from this qualitative research were "failure in mentalization", "experiencing emotion" and "insecure attachment strategies". Therefore, based on the themes obtained, mothers can be empowered by training in this field.
Keywords
Mentalization
mothers
anxious
children
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Cultural Psychology
Volume 8, Issue 2
June 2025
Pages 59-88

  • Receive Date 09 March 2023
  • Revise Date 02 July 2023
  • Accept Date 03 December 2024