Questionnaire Analysis

The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ-54) is a psychometric test developed by Fonagy in 2016 as a brief and easy-to-administer tool for assessing reflective functioning. It does not aim to capture different dimensions of intelligence nor the unfolding of mentalizing processes during social interactions. Instead, it applies a broad range of measures that leverage these capacities and examines possible impairments in mentalizing.

Purpose of the Questionnaire

The Reflective Functioning Questionnaire was created to evaluate severe impairments or imbalances in mentalizing, which are commonly observed in individuals with features of borderline personality disorder.

Question Scoring

Participants are asked to indicate the extent to which they agree with each statement that reflects a thought or feeling they may experience. The questionnaire consists of 54 items, each rated on a 7-point Likert scale from 1 (Strongly disagree) to 7 (Strongly agree). The questions are divided into two subscales: RFQ-U, which measures Uncertainty, and RFQ-C, which measures Certainty regarding mental states.

Statistical Analysis

The questionnaire yields a total score ranging from 54 to 378. High scores reflect a stance characterized by greater uncertainty and lack of knowledge about mental states. In contrast, low scores—composed of more neutral responses—indicate an acknowledgment of the opacity of mental states, which is considered a characteristic of healthy mentalizing.

Validity and Reliability

All subscales used were tested for reliability and showed overall good internal consistency, with Cronbach’s alpha at 0.7. In a follow-up test conducted three weeks later, internal consistency was excellent, with α = 0.84 for the RFQ-U subscale and α = 0.75 for the RFQ-C subscale.

Reference

Fonagy, P., Luyten, P., Moulton-Perkins, A., Lee, Y. W., Warren, F., Howard, S., … & Lowyck, B. (2016). Development and validation of a self-report measure of mentalizing: The reflective functioning questionnaire. PLoS One, 11(7), e0158678.