Objective: Mentalization is defined as the capacity to reflect on one’s
own mental state and the mental states of others. The primary aim
of this study is to translate the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire
(RFQ), which measures mentalization, into Turkish and evaluate its
psychometric properties. In addition, reflective capacities of male adults
on probation due to substance use were investigated and compared with
the control group.
Methods: The questionnaire was translated into Turkish using a
forward-backward-forward method and administered to 219 adults
with no prior psychiatric history, as well as 205 substance-using male
adults. Participants also completed a battery of self-report questionnaires
measuring empathy, mindfulness, theory of mind, alexithymia, and
impulsivity. Additionally, the substance-using group completed the
Drug Use Disorders Identification Test to assess the severity of their
drug use.
Results: The results indicate configural invariance of the original twofactor
structure of the RFQ across the Turkish-speaking healthy control
group and substance-using male adults, as well as satisfactory reliability
and construct validity for the two subscales. The reflective functioning
scores of the substance-using group were not significantly different from
those of the control group.
Discussion: This study demonstrates the reliability and validity of the
Turkish version of the RFQ. Despite no significant differences in RF
scores between the groups, the findings highlight the significance of
further exploring reflective functioning in individuals with substance
use.
Keywords: Mentalization, reflective functioning, reflective functioning
questionnaire, substance use disorder, validity, reliability