Psychometric Properties of the Turkish Version of the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire in Men on Probation for Substance Use and a Healthy Control Group

Abstract

Objective: Mentalization is defined as the capacity to reflect on one’s own mental state and the mental states of others. The primary aim of this study is to translate the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ), which measures mentalization, into Turkish and evaluate its psychometric properties. In addition, reflective capacities of male adults on probation due to substance use were investigated and compared with the control group. Methods: The questionnaire was translated into Turkish using a forward-backward-forward method and administered to 219 adults with no prior psychiatric history, as well as 205 substance-using male adults. Participants also completed a battery of self-report questionnaires measuring empathy, mindfulness, theory of mind, alexithymia, and impulsivity. Additionally, the substance-using group completed the Drug Use Disorders Identification Test to assess the severity of their drug use. Results: The results indicate configural invariance of the original two-factor structure of the RFQ across the Turkish-speaking healthy control group and substance-using male adults, as well as satisfactory reliability and construct validity for the two subscales. The reflective functioning scores of the substance-using group were not significantly different from those of the control group. Discussion: This study demonstrates the reliability and validity of the Turkish version of the RFQ. Despite no significant differences in RF scores between the groups, the findings highlight the significance of further exploring reflective functioning in individuals with substance use.