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The ability to regulate one's emotions and behaviors is essential for adaptive functioning in society. We investigated whether parental mind-mindedness--parents' tendency to treat their children as mental agents--in infancy and toddlerhood predicts school-age children's self-regulation. The sample consisted of 125 mostly Dutch and White families. We assessed mothers' and fathers' appropriate and nonattuned mind-related comments during free play with their 12- and 30-month-old child (70 girls and 55 boys). We measured children's physiological, temperamental, and behavioral self-regulation when children were 4 1/2 years old. Fathers' appropriate mind-related comments predicted children's higher temperamental and behavioral self-regulation and mothers' and fathers' nonattuned mind-related comments predicted children's lower physiological and temperamental self-regulation. Our findings emphasize the importance of both parents' mind-mindedness in children's socioemotional development.

Purpose: This study evaluated the video-feedback intervention Basic Trust in families with internationally adoptive children aged 2–12 years. The intervention aims to reduce child attachment insecurity and behavior problems by enhancing mothers' and fathers' sensitivity and mind-mindedness (parents' capacity to hold in mind the mind of their child). Method: Fifty-three adoptive families participated in a pretest, posttest, and 6-month follow-up assessment. Questionnaires on parenting stress, child attachment insecurity, and behavior problems were administered. Parents' sensitivity was assessed from free-play observations at home, and mind-mindedness was measured with a describe-your-child interview. Results: Parents reported less child behavior problems, insecure and disorganized attachment, and parenting stress at posttest and follow-up. Parents' mind-mindedness increased from pre- to post-test but not from pretest to follow-up. Parents' sensitivity showed an improvement at follow-up. Conclusions: Future studies should investigate whether the present study's positive results can be replicated under conditions of strict experimental control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]