Lessons learned from the adaptation of the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) for Dutch people with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities

Suzanne D.M. Derks; Agnes M. Willemen; Cis Vrijmoeth; Paula S. Sterkenburg

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0287751

Lessons learned from the adaptation of the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) for Dutch people with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities

Suzanne D.M. Derks^*, Agnes M. Willemen, Cis Vrijmoeth, Paula S. Sterkenburg

^*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND: People with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBIDs) face challenges in social functioning, possibly as a result of limited mentalising abilities such as reflecting on the behaviour of themselves and others. Reflective functioning in people with MBIDs has not yet been investigated due to a lack of instruments. The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) is a seemingly easy adaptable, short self-report questionnaire. The aim of the present, explorative study was to adapt the RFQ for people with MBIDs and investigate the psychometric properties and correlations with other mentalising related constructs. The formulation of the items was adapted to the target group and items were added to broaden the scope towards reflection on both the self and other.

METHOD: Participants were 159 adults with MBIDs who completed a Dutch-translated and easy-to-read RFQ with five supplemental items, a questionnaire for autistic traits, a self-report questionnaire assessing perspective taking and two performance-based measures assessing emotion recognition and Theory of Mind.

RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the factor structure of the RFQ and revealed a two-factor structure with a Self and Other subscale. Generally satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability were found. Explorative results showed correlations of the RFQ-8 and RFQ subscales with autistic traits and between the RFQ Other and perspective taking.

CONCLUSIONS: This explorative study is the first testing psychometric properties of the RFQ as a self-report questionnaire for assessing reflective functioning in adults with MBIDs. This step is relevant in gaining more scientific knowledge on assessing mentalising in people with MBIDs.

Original language	English
Article number	e0287751
Pages (from-to)	1-16
Number of pages	16
Journal	PLoS ONE
Volume	18
Issue number	6
Early online date	27 Jun 2023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287751
Publication status	Published - Jun 2023

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This work was funded by The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development ZonMw, Postbus 93 245, 2509 AE Den Haag The Netherlands. Project number 845004004. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 Derks et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

Keywords

Adult
Humans
Intellectual Disability
Reproducibility of Results
Surveys and Questionnaires
Self Report
Psychometrics/methods

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@article{da943fe128494e5081d151d60a17fb71,

title = "Lessons learned from the adaptation of the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) for Dutch people with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: People with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBIDs) face challenges in social functioning, possibly as a result of limited mentalising abilities such as reflecting on the behaviour of themselves and others. Reflective functioning in people with MBIDs has not yet been investigated due to a lack of instruments. The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) is a seemingly easy adaptable, short self-report questionnaire. The aim of the present, explorative study was to adapt the RFQ for people with MBIDs and investigate the psychometric properties and correlations with other mentalising related constructs. The formulation of the items was adapted to the target group and items were added to broaden the scope towards reflection on both the self and other.METHOD: Participants were 159 adults with MBIDs who completed a Dutch-translated and easy-to-read RFQ with five supplemental items, a questionnaire for autistic traits, a self-report questionnaire assessing perspective taking and two performance-based measures assessing emotion recognition and Theory of Mind.RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the factor structure of the RFQ and revealed a two-factor structure with a Self and Other subscale. Generally satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability were found. Explorative results showed correlations of the RFQ-8 and RFQ subscales with autistic traits and between the RFQ Other and perspective taking.CONCLUSIONS: This explorative study is the first testing psychometric properties of the RFQ as a self-report questionnaire for assessing reflective functioning in adults with MBIDs. This step is relevant in gaining more scientific knowledge on assessing mentalising in people with MBIDs.",

keywords = "Adult, Humans, Intellectual Disability, Reproducibility of Results, Surveys and Questionnaires, Self Report, Psychometrics/methods",

author = "Derks, {Suzanne D.M.} and Willemen, {Agnes M.} and Cis Vrijmoeth and Sterkenburg, {Paula S.}",

note = "Funding Information: This work was funded by The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development ZonMw, Postbus 93 245, 2509 AE Den Haag The Netherlands. Project number 845004004. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2023 Derks et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.",

year = "2023",

month = jun,

doi = "10.1371/journal.pone.0287751",

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AU - Willemen, Agnes M.

AU - Vrijmoeth, Cis

AU - Sterkenburg, Paula S.

N1 - Funding Information: This work was funded by The Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development ZonMw, Postbus 93 245, 2509 AE Den Haag The Netherlands. Project number 845004004. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Derks et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

PY - 2023/6

Y1 - 2023/6

N2 - BACKGROUND: People with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBIDs) face challenges in social functioning, possibly as a result of limited mentalising abilities such as reflecting on the behaviour of themselves and others. Reflective functioning in people with MBIDs has not yet been investigated due to a lack of instruments. The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) is a seemingly easy adaptable, short self-report questionnaire. The aim of the present, explorative study was to adapt the RFQ for people with MBIDs and investigate the psychometric properties and correlations with other mentalising related constructs. The formulation of the items was adapted to the target group and items were added to broaden the scope towards reflection on both the self and other.METHOD: Participants were 159 adults with MBIDs who completed a Dutch-translated and easy-to-read RFQ with five supplemental items, a questionnaire for autistic traits, a self-report questionnaire assessing perspective taking and two performance-based measures assessing emotion recognition and Theory of Mind.RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the factor structure of the RFQ and revealed a two-factor structure with a Self and Other subscale. Generally satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability were found. Explorative results showed correlations of the RFQ-8 and RFQ subscales with autistic traits and between the RFQ Other and perspective taking.CONCLUSIONS: This explorative study is the first testing psychometric properties of the RFQ as a self-report questionnaire for assessing reflective functioning in adults with MBIDs. This step is relevant in gaining more scientific knowledge on assessing mentalising in people with MBIDs.

AB - BACKGROUND: People with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities (MBIDs) face challenges in social functioning, possibly as a result of limited mentalising abilities such as reflecting on the behaviour of themselves and others. Reflective functioning in people with MBIDs has not yet been investigated due to a lack of instruments. The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) is a seemingly easy adaptable, short self-report questionnaire. The aim of the present, explorative study was to adapt the RFQ for people with MBIDs and investigate the psychometric properties and correlations with other mentalising related constructs. The formulation of the items was adapted to the target group and items were added to broaden the scope towards reflection on both the self and other.METHOD: Participants were 159 adults with MBIDs who completed a Dutch-translated and easy-to-read RFQ with five supplemental items, a questionnaire for autistic traits, a self-report questionnaire assessing perspective taking and two performance-based measures assessing emotion recognition and Theory of Mind.RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the factor structure of the RFQ and revealed a two-factor structure with a Self and Other subscale. Generally satisfactory internal consistency and test-retest reliability were found. Explorative results showed correlations of the RFQ-8 and RFQ subscales with autistic traits and between the RFQ Other and perspective taking.CONCLUSIONS: This explorative study is the first testing psychometric properties of the RFQ as a self-report questionnaire for assessing reflective functioning in adults with MBIDs. This step is relevant in gaining more scientific knowledge on assessing mentalising in people with MBIDs.

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KW - Humans

KW - Intellectual Disability

KW - Reproducibility of Results

KW - Surveys and Questionnaires

KW - Self Report

KW - Psychometrics/methods

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Lessons learned from the adaptation of the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) for Dutch people with mild to borderline intellectual disabilities

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

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