Investigating mental functioning through the Child Attachment Interview: a challenge in adolescence

Introduction: Recent literature focused on emotion regulation and mentalization as explaining mechanisms between insecure attachment and psychopathological trajectories in developmental age, but there is still a lack of studies using attachment interviews as informative measures of mental functioning. In the PDM-2 theoretical framework, the Child Attachment Interview (CAI) could be a valid measure to assess the Mental Functioning Axis (MA-Axis), coded through the Psychodiagnostic Chart-2 Adolescent-version (PDC-2), but quantitative studies are needed as well. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the role of mental functioning domains - i.e. emotional regulation and mentalization - in the relationship between insecure attachment, operazionalized as Attachment Coherence, and psychological maladjustment, operazionalized as Internalizing and Externalizing symptomatology. Method: Forty-eighth Italian teenagers (Mage=13.1 y.o, SD=.99; 56% female), 20 of which as nonclinical group and 28 with internalizing and externalizing symptomatology (clinical group), were administered the CAI, later coded for Attachment Coherence and MA-Axis. Parents completed the Child Behavior Checklist 6-18. Results: Exploratory analyses showed significative correlations between attachment security subscales, all mental functioning domains, and symptomatology. Mediation models tested the role of emotional regulation and mentalization, and the Capacity for Impulse Control and Regulation mediated the relationship between Attachment Coherence and psychological maladjustment, even controlling for group membership. Discussion: Findings suggest that CAI and PDC-2 are useful measures to explore adolescent mental states, highlighting the relationship between attachment insecurity and psychological maladjustment through the interaction with emotional-behavioral regulation. Implications on clinical vs. nonclinical functioning in adolescence will be provided.