title: Parental Reflective Functioning: An Approach to Enhancing Parent-Child Relationships in Pediatric Primary Care.
abstract: The current state of science suggests that safe, responsive, and nurturing parent-child relationships early in children's lives promotes healthy brain and child development and protection against lifelong disease by reducing toxic stress and promoting foundational social-emotional health. Pediatric health care providers (HCPs) have a unique opportunity to foster these relationships. However, such a role requires a shift in pediatric health care from a focus only on children to one that includes families and communities, as well as the inclusion of children's social and emotional health with their physical health. To foster healthy parent-child relationships, HCPs must develop the expertise to integrate approaches that support the family's socioemotional health into pediatric primary care. This article suggests ways in which pediatric HCPs can integrate a focus on parental reflective functioning into their clinical work, helping parents to understand some of the thoughts and feelings that underlie their children's behavior.
authors: Monica Roosa
authors: MR
authors: Ordway
authors: Denise
authors: D
authors: Webb
authors: Lois S
authors: LS
authors: Sadler
authors: Arietta
authors: A
authors: Slade
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004505:Education, Nonprofessional / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010290:Parents / Q000193:education* / Q000523:psychology; D010372:Pediatrics; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012931:Social Environment; D013315:Stress, Psychological; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: Parenting; pediatric health care; reflective functioning