Elterliches Mentalisieren und psychosoziale Entwicklung von Kindern im Vorschulalter.

Parental Reflective Functioning and Psychosocial Development in Preschool Children Parental reflective functioning (PRF) is considered an important predictor of children's emotion regulation and psychosocial development. In German-speaking countries, there is a lack of studies that focus on the preschool age, include both parents and consider children's emotion regulation as a mediator between PRF and psychosocial development. The aim of this cross-sectional study was to analyse the associations between PRF and child´s psychosocial development, taking emotion regulation as a mediator into account. Study 1 (78 mothers, 34 fathers; child´s age M=4.25 years) showed that higher PRF was associated with fewer psychological difficulties and greater prosocial behavior in preschool-aged children. Study 2 (109 mothers, 21 fathers; child's age M=2.92 years) confirmed these findings, and based on preliminary results, identified children's emotion regulation as a potential mediator. Overall, the results suggest that both PRF and emotion regulation represent key targets for early preventive interventions aimed at promoting psychosocial development.