ارائه مدل علّی ذهنی سازی با نقش میانجی نظم‌ جویی و بی ثباتی هیجانی مادران در اختلال‌های هیجانی-رفتاری نوجوانان

مرضیه ذبیحی; مهدی قاسمی مطلق

Authors

Marzieh Zabihi Department of Psychology, Boj.C., Islamic Azad University, Bojnord, Iran. Author https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5578-8267
Mehdi Ghasemi Motlagh Department of Psychology, Boj.C., Islamic Azad University, Bojnord, Iran Author https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4400-0347

Keywords:

seeking order, Emotional instability, Emotional-behavioral disorders

Abstract

This study aimed to develop a causal model of mentalization, examining the mediating roles of maternal emotion regulation and emotional instability in relation to adolescents' emotional-behavioral disorders. The research employed a correlational design utilizing path analysis and is classified as basic research; its objective was to expand theoretical knowledge regarding the relationships between maternal mentalization capacity, emotional instability, and emotion regulation and adolescents' emotional-behavioral disorders by uncovering fundamental associations among the study variables.

The statistical population for this study consisted of all mothers and their adolescent children (aged 16–18) residing in Mashhad. The adolescents were aged 16 to 18 and were attending upper secondary school. The sample included both male and female adolescents, and the mother and adolescent were required to be living in the same household. A multi-stage cluster sampling method was employed; three districts were selected from Mashhad’s seven districts—representing underprivileged, average, and affluent areas—and from each district, three schools were chosen. Within each school, one class was selected for each grade level. The final sample size comprised 420 mothers and their 420 adolescent children.

The research instruments included the Emotional-Behavioral Problems Questionnaire (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2003), the Mentalization Questionnaire (Dimitrijević et al., 2017), the Mentalization of Affect Scale (MAS; Greenberg et al., 2017), and the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz & Roemer, 2004). The data obtained from the questionnaires were analyzed in two stages: first using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) and subsequently using Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA), utilizing SPSS 25 and LISREL 8.8 software.

The findings of this study demonstrated that the causal model of mentalization—incorporating the mediating roles of maternal emotion regulation and emotional instability in the context of adolescents' emotional-behavioral disorders—exhibited a good fit. Specifically, the direct effect of mentalization on maternal emotional instability was positive and significant, and the indirect effect of mentalization—mediated by maternal emotion regulation and emotional instability—was also positive and significant.

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