Mentalization and epistemic trust, mistrust, and credulity in psychopathological risk in adolescence

Introduction. In recent years, research has become increasingly interested in the complex interplay between mentalizing abilities, epistemic trust, and psychopathology. Mentalization (RF) or reflective functioning (RF) is a critical skill that enables individuals to understand actions driven by intentional mental states. Epistemic Trust (ET) (the ability to evaluate social information as reliable and relevant) is potentially absent in mental disorders, while associations with psychopathology have been noted for Epistemic Mistrust and Credulity. Research shows that patterns of psychopathology in adolescence could reveal connections between challenges in mentalizing and both internalizing and externalizing problems. However, data exploring the dynamic among RF, ET, and the risk for specific mental disorders remain limited. Methods. This cross-sectional study includes a community sample of 482 Italian adolescents (Mage=15.60, SD=2.05; 57.68% females assigned at birth) that self-reported on mentalization (RFQY), epistemic trust (ETMCQ-A), emotional dysregulation (DERS) and psychopathology (YSR). A network analysis was conducted to explore the associations between mentalization, ET, emotional dysregulation, and psychopathology. Results. The findings underscore a protective relationship between mentalization and several outcomes: emotional dysregulation, aggressive behaviors, attention problems, and social problems. A notable association emerged between mentalization and anxiety symptoms. Conversely, ET was inversely associated with attention difficulties and withdrawal/depression symptoms. Epistemic Mistrust correlated positively with emotional dysregulation, withdrawal, somatic complaints, and aggressive behaviors. Furthermore, Credulity was linked positively to emotional dysregulation and attention issues but negatively to withdrawal/depression symptoms. Discussion. Overall, findings suggest that mentalization plays a broader protective role than ET in contrasting the development of psychopathology. However, a greater propensity to reflect is associated with anxious problems. Epistemic Mistrust appears to be connected to different types of disorders that lead adolescents to either attack or withdraw from relationships with others, whereas Credulity promotes an unregulated search for others that can interfere with attentional focus. Epistemic Mistrust and Credulity may be key elements in sustaining or maintaining adolescent psychopathology.