Exploring mentalization, trust, communication quality, and alienation in adolescents

Abstract

Introduction A growing body of evidence has demonstrated the importance of mentalization for adolescents' psychosocial functioning; however, further research is needed to understand links between mentalization and other socio-cognitive factors. The aim of this quantitative, crosssectional study was to investigate the relationship between a teen's capacity to mentalize and three attachment-related factors: Parent-teen trust, parent-teen communication, and parent-teen alienation. Methods In an online survey, 82 (mainly) Australian adolescents (57 female; 23 male; 2 non-binary; mean age 17.09 years) completed: I) The Children's Eyes Test, which measured mentalization; and ii) The Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment-45, which measured trust, communication quality, and alienation. Results In teens' relationships with both mothers and fathers, trust and communication quality were significantly positively correlated (p = .001) when controlling for age and gender. Both were significantly negatively correlated with alienation (p = .001) with control variables included. Capacity to mentalize did not correlate with trust, communication quality, or alienation in relationships with either mothers or fathers (p ï¿ .05). Conclusions Possible reasons are proposed for why no relationship was found between mentalization and trust, communication quality, or alienation. Implications for future research are discussed.