Cooke, D., Priddis, L., Luyten, P., Kendall, G. and Cavanagh, R. Infant Ment. Health J. 2017; 38: 561–574. doi:10.1002/imhj.21664

This study of 120 sets of Australian parents is important because it is one of the few studies that examines both maternal and paternal ability.  The study showed that mothers and fathers had independent mentalising capacity and that the mentalising capacity of mothers was greater than that of fathers.  Paternal mentalising was more strongly associated with family functioning than maternal mentalising.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/imhj.21664/abstract?campaign=woletoc