Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34415663›Full record

ArticlePsychology and psychotherapy2022

Psychometric evaluation of the German version of the Brief Reflective Functioning Interview.

Sylke Andreas, Paul Plümer, Katharina Reichholf, Maria Dehoust, Holger Schulz, Pia Müllauer, Marie G Rudden, Birgit Senft, Richard Gaugeler, Markus Hayden

Registry-linked trialAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Psychology and psychotherapy, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. It is linked to trial NCT07639957 (What Role Does Gender Play in Relationship and Self Experiences of Individuals With Borderline Personality Disorder?), which is not on this map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

NCT07639957 recruitingnot on this mapstarted 2026, after this paper: background citation

What Role Does Gender Play in Relationship and Self Experiences of Individuals With Borderline Personality Disorder?

TypeobservationalSponsorUniversity Hospital HeidelbergRan2026 to 2027Enrolled15ConditionsBorderline Personality Disorder (BPD)
3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

10 authors.

Sylke AndreasInstitut für Psychologie, Universität Klagenfurt, Austria.
Paul PlümerInstitut für Psychologie, Universität Klagenfurt, Austria.
Katharina ReichholfInstitut für Psychologie, Universität Klagenfurt, Austria.
Maria DehoustPsychosomatische Klinik Ginsterhof, Rosengarten, Germany.
Holger SchulzDepartment of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany.
Pia MüllauerInstitut für Psychologie, Universität Klagenfurt, Austria.
Marie G RuddenBerkshire Psychoanalytic Institute, West Stockbridge, Massachusetts, USA.
Birgit SenftReha-Klinik für Seelische Gesundheit und Prävention, Klagenfurt, Austria.
Richard GaugelerÖffentliches Krankenhaus Waiern, Feldkirchen i. K., Austria.
Markus HaydenInstitut für Psychologie, Universität Klagenfurt, Austria.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo measure mentalization in a feasible manner, various instruments have been designed in recent years. The Brief Reflective Functioning Interview (BRFI) is a short interview that is based on the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). The aim of both studies was to examine the psychometric properties of the German version of the BRFI and to compare them to those of the AAI.

methodsIn Study 1, we examined 60 students using the BRFI and the AAI. In Study 2, the validity of the BRFI was examined using a mixed sample of students and patients (N = 149). Trained coders evaluated the Reflective Functioning Scale (RFS) for the BRFI and the AAI.

resultsWe found a significant positive correlation between the RFS total scores of the BRFI and those of the AAI. In addition, both interviews showed excellent internal consistency. We could also show that persons with mental disorders exhibit lower levels of RF score than mentally stable individuals. Women had higher RF scores in the BRFI than men in both samples. Persons whose mentalization capacity was rated below average in either the BRFI or the AAI also reported significantly lower mentalization ability in the self-assessment (p < .01).

conclusionsOur results revealed that the RFS scores measured by the BRFI are highly comparable to those measured by the AAI. Our findings support the results of previous studies, suggesting that the BRFI is a reliable, valid and easy-to-administer alternative to the AAI. PRACTITIONER POINTS: The German version of the Brief Reflective Functioning Interview (BRFI) proved to be a reliable and valid instrument for the assessment of reflective functioning that is shorter in terms of time to complete and the evaluation process than the measurement via the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI). Reflective functioning is negatively associated with psychopathology.

Indexed as

Mental DisordersMentalizationAdultFemaleHumansMaleObject AttachmentPsychometricsReproducibility of ResultsAdult Attachment InterviewBrief Reflective Functioning Interviewmentalizationpsychometric propertiesreflective functioning

Identifiers

PMID34415663
PMCPMC9292361

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY-NC-ND
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.