Academic literature on the topic 'Mindful parenting'

The quality of caregiver-child interactions influences child, parent, and family wellness. Although the existing body of literature links mindfulness to positive outcomes within the family, little is known about how specific dimensions of mindful parenting are associated with parenting practices or child behavior reactivity. Based on a mindful parenting model and differential susceptibility model, this quantitative study used an online survey method to examine how specific dimensions of mindful parenting are associated with parenting practices and child behavior reactivity among a sample of 152 parents of elementary-age children. This study also explored how parent life stress modifies the relationship between mindful parenting dimensions and parenting practices and child reactivity. A model estimation was calculated using least squares regression-based path analysis to test the strength and direction of the association between the 5 dimensions of mindfulness and child behavioral reactivity through mediation and moderated mediation models. Results revealed that the mindful parenting dimensions of acceptance and attention had significant positive associations with child behavior reactivity. Emotional awareness and attention were mediated by positive parenting; however, no moderated mediation of any dimension of mindfulness and child behavior reactivity was found. The results from this study may be used to promote positive social change by helping service providers develop effective parenting programs and properly identify parents who might benefit from mindfulness interventions and stress reduction techniques.

Mindful parenting has been defined as “paying attention to your child and your parenting in a particular way: intentionally, here and now, and non-judgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn & Kabat-Zinn, 1997). Although it is hypothesized that increasing mindful parenting improves parent and child functioning, the development of a measure of mindful parenting is needed to support this assumption. The aim of the present study was to develop and psychometrically evaluate a measure of mindful parenting (the Mindfulness In Parenting Questionnaire: MIPQ) for use with mothers and fathers of both children and adolescents, ranging in age from 2- to 16-years-old. The current study contained three phases. First, content experts in the area of mindfulness and parenting provided content for preliminary items. Second, parents participated in cognitive interviewing in order to reduce measurement error and increase the psychometrics of the measure. The third and final phase consisted of large-scale data collection to explore the psychometrics of the new MIPQ. Two-hundred and three parents recruited from academic and after-school programs in South Florida completed the MIPQ, along with measures of intrapersonal mindfulness, parenting behavior, parenting style, and a demographics questionnaire. The Partial Credit Model, which evidenced significantly better fit than the Rating Scale Model, was used to evaluate the MIPQ using WINSTEPS 3.74.01. The MIPQ was iteratively refined based on statistical and clinical considerations, resulting in a 28-item measure with 4 response categories. Further, results supported a 2 factor mindful parenting construct. The first factor (Parental Self-Efficacy) reflects a parent’s self-efficacy, as well as nonreactivity and awareness within the parenting role, while the second factor (Being in the Moment with the Child) pertains to the child, and reflects present-centered attention, empathic understanding, and acceptance of the child. Factors were correlated (r = .67) and explained 42.3% and 43.4% of the variance, respectively. Correlations between the MIPQ and parenting style, parenting practices, practice of mindfulness, and participant demographics provided support for convergent and discriminant validity. The MIPQ exhibited a positive and weak correlation with the MAAS, indicating that interpersonal and intrapersonal mindfulness are related, but separate and distinct constructs. Limitations and directions for future research are discussed.

Parenting stress and child mental health are interwoven, so reducing parenting stress may improve child symptoms. This thesis evaluates whether mindful parenting programs (MPPs) reduce stress for parents of children with primary internalizing problems and explores whether and how MPPs might reduce those problems. The meta-analysis found that MPPs may lower parenting stress and child problems, but reduced parenting stress did not predict improvements in child internalizing problems. Confirmatory factor analyses showed a 6-facet model of mindful parenting (de Bruin et al., 2014) to be a good fit in English-language mothers. Regression analyses showed that mindful parenting, in particular the Non-judgmental Acceptance of Parental Functioning facet, uniquely predicted child internalizing problems, parental experiential avoidance, cognitive emotion regulation and parent beliefs and behaviors relating to child anxiety. A randomized, waitlist-controlled feasibility study found that an 8-week MPP was well-attended and acceptable to community-recruited parents with concerns about their child’s internalizing problems. Effects favoured the intervention group, with moderate to large improvements in school-aged child internalizing symptoms, parenting stress, experiential avoidance, cognitive emotion regulation and unhelpful beliefs regarding child anxiety. Coping in stressful parenting situations also improved. Qualitative feedback identified increased acceptance, self-compassion and empathy as helping parents cope with child internalizing problems. This thesis shows that MPPs are likely to reduce parenting stress and child internalizing problems. Reductions in child internalizing could be explained by improved parent emotion regulation and less unhelpful beliefs regarding child anxiety. These findings could be further explored experimentally and through longitudinal path analysis.

Despite its rewards, parenting is a challenging role, frequently associated with heightened stress. Parents of children with mental health conditions, such as childhood anxiety disorders (ADs), commonly report even higher levels of parenting stress and increased problems with their own mental health. These parents may also experience greater emotion dysregulation (ED) and may engage in more “negative” parenting behaviours (e.g., criticism, rejection); all of which are in turn associated with greater child anxiety symptoms and poorer child anxiety-focused therapy outcomes. In contrast, several “positive” parenting behaviours (e.g., warmth, responsiveness) have been shown to be associated with better long-term outcomes for clinically anxious children and appear to play an important protective role among families. Recently, it has been suggested that parent’s capacity for mindfulness and mindful parenting is related to parents adopting more positive parenting practices that may result in more favourable parent and child outcomes. This may be particularly relevant for parents of young children with ADs given the important role parents play for their emotional and behavioural adjustment during early childhood years. Yet, there is a paucity of research examining these parent factors (including ED, parenting stress, parenting behaviours, and mindful parenting) among parents of young clinically anxious children. Given the challenges that many parents face in parenting a clinically anxious child, there is a need for interventions that aim to provide greater support to parents in hopes to improve therapeutic outcomes for both parents and children with ADs. Indeed, mindful parenting interventions (MPIs) have been proposed as one such support for parents. A key aim of MPIs is to address parenting stress through teaching mindfulness and mindful parenting techniques. Although the evidence-base has increased, much is yet to be learned about the theoretical assumptions underlying mindful parenting interventions. Moreover, little is known about the extent to which MPIs are feasible among specific populations, and who may benefit most from these types of interventions. Therefore, the main objective of this doctoral research project was to advance knowledge of the MPI literature for parents of young clinically anxious children. Firstly, Study 1 examined theoretical mechanisms of mindful parenting and parenting stress among a sample of 83 parents of young clinically anxious children (aged 3- to 7 years) utilising a cross-sectional study design. Child diagnostic status was determined with diagnostic interviews with parents. Key variables of interest were parent factors that appear to be associated with the development and/or maintenance of anxiety in children, including parental ED, parenting stress, and parenting behaviours, which were measured using commonly used self-report questionnaires. Specifically, this study evaluated the relationships between parental ED and parenting behaviours (including warmth, rejection) within an integrative model with mindful parenting and parenting stress as sequential mediators to determine independent and combined mediation effects. It was hypothesised that mindful parenting would be positively associated with parental warmth, and negatively associated with ED, parenting stress, and parental rejection, while it was expected to find inverse associations of these variables with parenting stress. Secondly, it was expected that mindful parenting and parenting stress would emerge as significant independent mediators in respective simple mediation models. Finally, we hypothesise that mindful parenting and parenting stress sequentially mediate the links between ED and parenting behaviours. Overall, results of this study largely supported hypotheses, showing associations in expected directions and single mediation effects of parental rejection and warmth. Results of sequential mediation revealed the links between ED and warmth and rejection, respectively, were sequentially mediated via mindful parenting and parenting stress; and that mindful parenting also had direct unique associations with rejection (and to a lesser extent, warmth). Findings of this study suggest that ED affects parenting behaviours via mindful parenting and parenting stress. Moreover, in the sequential mediation models mindful parenting showed unique direct effects on parental rejection, and to a somewhat lesser extent, parental warmth. This demonstrates the potentially protective role of greater parental capacity for mindful parenting and provides evidence in support of theory. This study concludes that mindful parenting and parenting stress may serve as potential targets for intervention among parents of young clinically anxious children. Thus, trialling MPIs among this population is warranted. Study 2 examines and compares the feasibility of an in-person versus online delivered group MPI among 83 parents of clinically anxious children (aged 3- to 7-years) and explored associations between baseline parent and child characteristics with adherence to the MPI. Feasibility was defined as adherence (indicated by facilitator-rated parental session attendance and self-reported home-practice compliance), acceptability (weekly session acceptability, overall program satisfaction, and program component evaluations), and limited effectiveness on key outcomes (self-reported parenting stress and parent-reported child anxiety severity). The study showed that there was no difference in indices of feasibility between the in-person and online modalities, except for online participants rating the session content on average as more useful. Outcomes provide evidence for effectiveness across modalities with reductions in parenting stress and child anxiety severity from baseline to post-intervention and short-term follow-up. However, dropout and non-adherence (46%) to both programs were high among parents. Further, adherence (as indexed by an average of 53% session attendance across parents and home-practice compliance estimated as low) to the MPIs was found to be average to low compared to prior MPI trials. Anecdotally reported barriers to engagement are discussed. Parents who were deemed adherers to the MPIs were found to be more distressed and less mindful at baseline relative to parents who were deemed non-adherers to the MPI, and their children tended to have fewer comorbid or externalising disorders. Finally, Study 3 examined predictors of response among 45 mothers who completed the MPIs by comparing parents who achieved reliable change on measures of self-reported parenting stress (i.e., responders) relative to parents who did not demonstrate reliable change following the MPI (i.e., non-responders). Secondary to this aim, this study investigated whether mother’s response would be associated with reliable change in parent-reported child anxiety severity, and whether changes in parenting stress would predict reductions in child anxiety at short-term follow-up. It was found that overall, approximately 50% of mothers experienced reliable improvements in their parenting stress following the MPI. Moreover, mothers’ positive response to the MPI was associated with reliable improvements in child anxiety severity. Relative to non-responders, mothers who had a positive response to the MPI were less overprotective in their parenting; and their child had higher comorbidity and more externalising disorders at baseline. Although no baseline predictors of parental response emerged, it was found that reductions in parenting stress from baseline to post-intervention were associated with decreased child anxiety severity at short-term follow-up. Moreover, the study showed that change in parents’ negative attitudes about the child being “difficult” to take care of predicted reduced child anxiety. Taken together, the findings presented in these three empirical studies inform the utility of addressing parent factors commonly associated with child anxiety and provide evidence for the importance of including parenting stress and mindful parenting in explanatory models. Indeed, findings offer support for theoretical notions of mindful parenting and support the potential utility of MPIs to improve the wellbeing of both parents and their young clinically anxious children. Both MPIs appeared to be acceptable and effective for parents of young anxious children; however, adherence rates were not optimal. Therefore, barriers to adherence need to be considered prior to recommending MPIs. Parents of clinically anxious children with more co-occurring disorders and externalising disorders, who were experiencing heightened distress themselves were more likely to adhere to the MPIs. However, this thesis also demonstrated that of those who adhered, parents who have children with more co-occurring disorders including externalising disorders, may be more likely to benefit from MPIs. Given that adherers were also found to be characterised by lower dispositional mindfulness and mindful parenting, it could be speculated that parents may be more likely to adhere well to MPIs for the right reasons: to improve their own levels of distress and mindfulness. However, more research is needed to confirm this interpretation. Taken together, the results from studies of this doctoral research project are promising; thus, larger clinical trial studies are warranted to replicate findings and to overcome limitations of the present studies. Overall, it has been concluded that more research is needed to advance the larger child anxiety and parenting literature. Parenting behaviours associated with child anxiety have long been accepted as explanatory factors in models of child anxiety; however, other parent factors such as parenting stress have been largely neglected in basic and applied intervention research. This doctoral thesis showed that mindful parenting and parenting stress seem to be relevant to the explanation of how parental ED affects parenting behaviours among parents of clinically anxious children, all of which may contribute to the explanation of intergenerational transmission of anxiety. Hence, more research in this field is warranted. Indeed, helping parents of young clinically anxious children to better manage their own wellbeing is important for future intervention efforts. However, problems with feasibility of parent-focused interventions at large, including MPIs, have been demonstrated. Therefore, more research and work need to be done to address these problems to be better able to reach and support these stressed parents of young anxious children. In fact, finding better ways to support these families is of importance given that parent factors, such as heightened parenting stress, not only exacerbate child anxiety but directly interfere with the success of child anxiety-focused therapies (e.g., dropout, attenuated response). MPIs appear to be acceptable to parents of young children with ADs. Therefore, offering MPIs as an adjunct or modifying traditional child-focused anxiety therapies to include MPI components may be beneficial. However, the problems of feasibility need to be addressed. Novel approaches to target parenting stress via MPIs in brief formats, or with multi-modes (e.g., more intensive workshop days combined with therapist assisted app support) might result in greater adherence, more access for parents and better child outcomes.<br>Thesis (Professional Doctorate)<br>Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)<br>School of Applied Psychology<br>Griffith Health<br>Full Text

In this study, a concurrent randomized multiple baseline across three parent-child dyads single-case design was employed to evaluate the effects of a brief three-week parent training program, titled Practiced Routines. The Practiced Routines parent training program included positive behavior supports (PBS) and mindfulness strategies within the context of natural family routines. Three mothers and their children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) participated. Visual analysis combined with a standardized mean difference analysis revealed mixed results with a medium effect found for increases in parent behavioral strategy use and small effects found for reductions in parent stress and child challenging behavior. All three mothers rated the social validity of the Practiced Routine program favorably. Implications for science and practice in educational and behavior health early intervention for families of children with ASD are discussed.

Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face many challenges which lead to low levels of psychological well-being, partly caused by inability to parent in accordance with one’s values. Child-directed play, a moment of being fully attentive and responsive to one’s child, has the potential to increase parental values. A non-concurrent multiple-baseline experimental design investigated whether daily exercises of child-directed play improved valued parenting and parental perspective-taking. Eight parents of children with diagnosed or suspected ASD were followed daily for six weeks. The intervention comprehended daily practice of child-directed play and video supervision. Child-directed play increased ratings of parental values for all but one participant (Hedges’ g* = 1.67) with effect maintained at follow-up, and increased ratings of parental perspective-taking. A gradual effect indicates the need for greater difference in baseline length between participants. No effects on children, nor on parental well-being were investigated in the present study.

Ancient scholars, theologians and philosophers have debated for centuries about the nature of the mind. Yet depression is the leading cause of disability across the world. The ubiquitous growth of mindfulness has in recent decades, been applied to assist parents with affect regulation. Mindful parenting is defined as a set of parenting skills that enhance present-centred, discerning awareness in parent–child relationships. The potential benefits of mindful parenting could span across generations to promote affect regulation for both children and parents. However further clarity is needed on how mindful parenting facilitates affect regulation. To date the literature examining the effectiveness of Mindful Parenting (MP) programs has been plagued by poor methodological design, diversity of interventions, questions surrounding program fidelity and a lack of clarity about change processes. Aims: The overall purpose of this dissertation was to critically analyse how mindful parenting is associated with affect regulation to evolve emotions. The focus of this dissertation is on mindful parenting of children aged 0 to 18 years. More specifically it aims to: - 1. Systematically review the international and national literature on the effectiveness of MP programs in promoting the wellbeing of children and parents (Study 1). 2. Investigate the effectiveness of an Australian MP program called Caring for Body and Mind in Pregnancy (CBMP) in reducing perinatal depression, anxiety and stress amongst a sample of at-risk pregnant women (Study 2). 3. Critically analyse how change processes utilised by MP programs are associated with affect regulation (Study 3). 4. Clarify which factors in the change processes of self-compassion and mindfulness scales have the strongest correlation with the reduction of perinatal depression (Study 4). xvi Method: Four diverse epistemologies were utilised to investigate the overarching research aim. Study 1 utilised the systematic review methodology to review the best available evidence on the effectiveness of MP Programs. Study 2 employed a repeated measures design to investigate the effectiveness of CBMP from a seven-year hospital dataset. Study 3 critically analysed the change processes that promote affect regulation by using Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) to examine semi-structured interviews with four facilitators of MP programs. Finally, Study 4 utilised Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) to analyse the change processes associated with the reduction of perinatal depression. Results: The systematic review yielded inconclusive evidence to support the effectiveness of MP programs due to the poor methodological quality of studies. Study 2 found CBMP significantly improved perinatal depression, anxiety, stress, mindfulness and self-compassion. The findings from Study 3 resulted in the anchor, a novel theoretical framework to investigate change processes. The anchor incorporates closely interconnected change mechanisms namely reflective functioning, attachment, cognitive, affective, somatic and social change mechanisms. The results from Study 4 indicated that self-kindness, observing and acting with awareness were associated with significant reductions in perinatal depression. Conclusion: Although the systematic review was unable to conclusively establish the effectiveness of Mindful Parenting programs, the other three studies provided suggestive evidence of its effectiveness. Contributions to new knowledge include conducting one of the first systematic reviews on mindful parenting, clarifying change processes associated with the reduction of perinatal depression and developing, a novel model of change, the anchor. The phenomenology of affect regulation still appears to puzzle humanity. Keywords: mindful parenting, mindfulness, affect regulation, attention regulation, emotions, perinatal depression, perinatal anxiety and stress.<br>Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, Adelaide Medical School, 2019