The effectiveness of parenting programs in regard to improving parental reflective functioning: a meta-analysis

ABSTRACT

Although parenting interventions aiming to improve parental RF have been developed, there have been conflicting results in regard to intervention effectiveness. This meta-analytic review seeks to synthesize the available evidence that group-based parenting interventions improve parental RF, in order to provide conclusive evidence regarding their effectiveness. A systematic search was performed to retrieve relevant studies published before November 2019. A total of 15 studies met the selection criteria, of which 3 studies were randomized controlled trials (RCTs). The studies yielded a significant intervention effect with a small pooled effect size (Hedge’s g = 0.279, p = 0.002) on parental RF. However, the pooled effect size of the 3 RCTs was non-significant (pooled effect size: Hedge’s g = 0.189, p = 0.244), indicating that current best evidence is limited. As the heterogeneity test was significant (Q = 32.486, df = 14, p = 0.003), which suggests the presence of heterogeneity among the selected studies, a series of moderator analyses were performed to examine factors that may influence intervention effects. Interventions that involved children in middle childhood had a larger effect size than those involving children in infancy and early childhood.

KEYWORDS:

• Reflective functioning
• mentalization-based intervention
• mentalizing
• parenting programs
• meta-analysis

Disclosure statement

The author declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University under Start-up Fund for New Recruits.