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Mentalizing is the ability to interpret the actions of self and others on the basis of intentional mental states such as desires, needs, feelings, beliefs, and reasons. It has been demonstrated that developmental adversity can impair the capacity to mentalize (Fonagy et al. 1996) and that for certain individuals the capacity to mentalize may serve
a protective function in the face of trauma (Fonagy et al. 1994). We hypothesized a link between developmental adversity and adult social functioning, where diminished capacity to mentalize is the mediator through which developmental adversity leads to impairment in adult social functioning, particularly in the context of attachment relationships.
Data were gathered from three samples: (1) 77 men and women, 18 to 37 years of age, formerly treated in a preschool day treatment program for childhood psychopathology, who participated in a followup study; (2) a control group of 48 men and women, matched by age, socioeconomic status, and gender; and (3) a comparison group of 25 referred psychiatric inpatients, ages 19 to 55. Overall, the total sample of 143 participants was 54% male, 46% female, 85% Caucasian, 15% nonwhite, and of low to moderate socioeconomic status.
All subjects participated in three interviews with established reliability and validity.
Developmental adversity was assessed with Childhood Experiences of Care and Abuse, or CECA (Bifulco et al. 1994), an investigatorbased retrospective interview that measures adversity at home, at school, and in the community from birth to age 18, including antipathy (parental hostility and/or rejection), psychological and physical neglect, discord and violence in the household, and physical, sexual, and psychological abuse. Retrospective information about abuse and neglect obtained from the CECAs of the first sample was checked against detailed childhood records (preschool medical charts, child protective services records). Using principal components analysi