The Impact of Invalidating Family Environments and Emotional Dysregulation on Mentalization Abilities: A Study of Electrodermal Activity

Authors

  • Victoria Papagna Maldonado Universidad del Salvador
  • Lorenzo Raggi 1. Neuroscience Laboratory. Psychology and Psychopedagogy Department. Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina. 2. Psychology Department, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Jerónimo Rodríguez Cuello 1. Neuroscience Laboratory. Psychology and Psychopedagogy Department. Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Marcos Parra
  • Borja Parga 1. Neuroscience Laboratory. Psychology and Psychopedagogy Department. Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Javier Fotti 1. Neuroscience Laboratory. Psychology and Psychopedagogy Department. Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
  • Federico José Sánchez 1. Neuroscience Laboratory. Psychology and Psychopedagogy Department. Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires, Argentina.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.15540/nr.12.4.279

Keywords:

Mentalization, Emotional Dysregulation, Invalidating Family Environment, Electrodermal Activity

Abstract

Mentalization, the ability to understand and interpret mental states, is central to successful social interactions. Impairments in mentalization, manifesting as either hypomentalization or hypermentalization, are often linked to challenges in empathy, executive functioning, and relationships. Although such deficits are frequently associated with borderline personality disorder (BPD), studying them in nonclinical populations provides valuable insight into the mechanisms of emotional regulation and social cognition. This study explores the relationship between mentalization, emotional dysregulation, and childhood invalidation in a nonclinical sample under stress. Twenty participants completed stress-induction tasks, including the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) and the Mannheim Multicomponent Stress Test (MMST), while electrodermal activity (EDA) and self-reported emotional arousal (SAM) were recorded. Results revealed significant correlations between better MASC performance and increased physiological activation, as well as between invalidating family environments and emotional dysregulation. Notably, maternal invalidation was strongly linked to heightened emotional dysregulation, while a validating family environment was associated with hypermentalization tendencies. These findings suggest that early family dynamics, particularly invalidation, play a critical role in mentalization impairments and emotional regulation. The study underscores the importance of addressing childhood environmental factors to foster healthy emotional and cognitive development.

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Published

2025-12-19

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 4 (2025)

Section

Clinical Corner

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Copyright (c) 2025 Victoria Papagna Maldonado, Lorenzo Raggi, Jerónimo Rodríguez Cuello, Marcos Parra, Borja Parga, Javier Fotti, Federico José Sánchez

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