Reflective Functioning, Affective Regulation and Emotional Availability in the Paternal Bond

Abstract

The present study proposes a review of the existing literature on parent-child dyadic bonds since most studies have focused primarily on mother-child relationships and their effects on social and emotional development. Scientific research dedicated to inter, intrapsychic, and trans-subjective aspects, mainly in fathers, will be analyzed, since these aspects contribute to the process of children's psychological development. As an intrapsychic variable, reflective functioning in fathers will be explored. Intersubjective variables will include emotion- al availability, affective regulation, and father-child interaction styles. In addition, the father's place in the socio-cultural context will be ana- lyzed as a trans-subjective variable