Parental reflective functioning and coping among parents of toddlers with severe developmental disabilities: An early integrative bio-psycho-social rehabilitative intervention in daycare facilities

Background: Parental reflective functioning has a positive effect on parents' wellbeing. It is associated with positive outcomes for their children. However, there is little research on it among parents of toddlers with severe developmental disabilities. Aims: We examined an early bio-psycho-social rehabilitative intervention with parents of toddlers with severe developmental disabilities in daycare programs and its contribution to their parental reflective functioning and coping. Methods and procedures: Seventy parents of children (ages 3 months to two and half years) responded to measures before and after the intervention in their children's daycare programs. Structural equation modeling of the mediation model revealed that the therapeutic inputs were associated with more adaptive coping strategies by increasing parental reflective functioning. Outcomes and results: Parents who participated in an intervention of 13 sessions or more significantly increased their reflective functioning. The path analysis showed that parental reflective functioning after the intervention mediated the association between its prior level and the therapeutic inputs, and the parents’ proactivity and search for support. Conclusions and implications: Parental reflective functioning positively affects parents’ adaptive coping styles. A bio-psycho-social intervention targeting parental reflective functioning benefits parents of toddlers with severe developmental disabilities.