Books / Psychodynamic & attachment
Affect Regulation, Mentalization, and the Development of the Self
Affect Regulation, Mentalization, and the Development of the Self (2002) presents Peter Fonagy and colleagues’ account of mentalization, attachment and emotional development.
Book details
Author of listed edition: Peter Fonagy, György Gergely, Elliot L. Jurist and Mary Target
Edition: First published in 2002; the publisher dates its ISBN 9781590511619 paperback to 2005
Publisher: Other Press
Edition year: 2002
Language and origin: English (United Kingdom / United States)
Form and genre: Clinical & Theoretical Monograph
Level: Advanced
Historical era: 1980–2009 · Evidence-Based, Trauma & Integrative Era
Covers: Mentalization and reflective functioning; Social biofeedback theory of affect mirroring; Psychic equivalence, pretend mode, and teleological stance; Alien self and attachment trauma
APA 7th reference: Fonagy, P., Gergely, G., Jurist, E. L., & Target, M. (2002). Affect regulation, mentalization, and the development of the self. Other Press.
What it is
First published in 2002, this clinical and theoretical work brings together ideas from psychoanalysis, attachment research and developmental psychology. The authors discuss mentalization, or understanding behaviour in relation to mental states.
What it covers
The book presents models of affect regulation and mentalization, including the authors’ account of affect mirroring. Its table of contents describes theoretical, developmental and clinical perspectives. These models should be understood as proposals rather than established explanations of every child’s development or adult experience.
Research and clinical context
The authors connect their developmental models to clinical practice. A 1991 study by Fonagy and colleagues reported an association between parents’ reflective-self ratings and infant attachment classifications. An observed association does not establish that a single interaction causes a particular outcome.
Reading this record
This entry draws on publisher and catalogue information and the abstract of a related study. The full book was not reviewed for this entry. It does not establish a cause of self-harm or a treatment outcome for an individual.
Paired academic and clinical scholarship
Paired work: The Capacity for Understanding Mental States: The Reflective Self in Parent and Child and Its Significance for Security of Attachment (Peter Fonagy, Howard Steele, Miriam Steele, Anna Moran, and Alan Higgitt, 1991)
Reference: Fonagy, P., Steele, H., Steele, M., Moran, G. S., & Higgitt, A. C. (1991). The capacity for understanding mental states: The reflective self in parent and child and its significance for security of attachment. Infant Mental Health Journal, 12(3), 201–218.
A 1991 study reported an association between parents’ reflective-self ratings and infant attachment classifications. The association does not establish a universal developmental pathway or causation.
Sources and inspection notes
Supports: Catalogue records the 2002 Other Press edition; full text not reviewed.
Penguin Random House. Affect regulation, mentalization, and the development of the self.
Supports: Publisher describes the book and dates ISBN 9781590511619 to a 2005 paperback, rather than the 2002 first publication.
Supports: The paper reports a correlation between parental reflective-self ratings and infant security classifications; correlation does not establish causation.
Routledge. Affect regulation, mentalization and the development of the self.
Supports: Publisher’s table of contents describes theoretical, developmental and clinical topics; full book not reviewed.