Who's Influencing Who? Adolescent Symptomatology and Caregiver Mindful Parenting

Household chaos and child problem behaviors: A cross-cultural examination of the mediating and moderating role of mindful parenting

Household chaos has been shown to adversely associate with children's behavioral adjustment. However, the mechanism underlying the relationship between household chaos and children's behaviors is not yet fully understood. The current study proposes mindful parenting as an important mediating and moderating factor in the relationship between household chaos and child problem behaviors. This study also examines cultural influences in this process, comparing the UK and Türkiye, considering both mothers' and children's perspectives on mindful parenting. Cross-sectional questionnaires were administered to mothers and their children aged 11-16 years in the UK (n = 90; 53.3% girl) and Türkiye (n = 154; 54.5% girl) in 2021. Mother reports of the Confusion, Hubbub, and Order Scale and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, as well as mother and child reports of Mindful Parenting Inventories for Parents (MPIP) and Children (MPIC), were used to assess household chaos, child problem behaviors, and mindful parenting, respectively. Multiple-group path analysis revealed that household chaos was a significant indirect predictor of child problem behaviors via mindful parenting in both countries. Furthermore, simple slopes analysis showed that mindful parenting moderated the link between household chaos and child problem behaviors in the UK. Overall, our study sheds light on the importance of micro- and macro-environmental factors and their interactions in children's adjustment.

The Mediating Role of Mindful Parenting in the Relationship Between Parental Anxiety and Youth's Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties

One of the central questions in the theory of the intergenerational transmission of psychological symptoms is to identify whether parenting practices explain the transmission of psychological symptoms from parents to youth. This study examined the mediating mechanism of mindful parenting in the relationship between parental anxiety and youth's emotional and behavioral difficulties. In three waves separated by six months, longitudinal data were collected from 692 Spanish youth (54% girls) aged between 9 and 15 years (Mage = 12.84 years, SD = 1.22 years at Wave 1) and their parents. Path analysis showed that maternal mindful parenting mediated the relationship between maternal anxiety and the youth's emotional and behavioral difficulties. No mediating effect was found concerning fathers; however, marginal bidirectional relationships were obtained between paternal mindful parenting and youth's emotional and behavioral difficulties. This study addresses one of the main concerns about the theory of intergenerational transmission using a multi-informant and longitudinal study design, concluding that maternal anxiety predicts less mindful parenting practices and these in turn predict youth's emotional and behavioral difficulties.

Mindful Parenting and Parent Technology Use: Examining the Intersections and Outlining Future Research Directions

Popular media attention and scientific research in both mindful parenting and technology use in the context of parenting has expanded in the 21st century; however, these two streams of research have largely evolved separately from one another. Thus, in this conceptual paper, we integrate the research on mindful parenting with that on parents’ technology use and parenting to examine how parent technology use may impact or be linked with aspects of mindful parenting. Mindful parenting theory outlines five key components: listening with full attention, self-regulation in the parent–child relationship, emotional awareness of self and child, nonjudgmental acceptance of self and child, and compassion for self and child. Parent technology use, in particular the use of mobile devices, has the potential to impact all five elements of mindful parenting. However, the relationship between mindful parenting and technology is complex, and there can be both positive and negative implications of parent technology use on mindful parenting. On the positive side, technology use might help parents regulate their emotions; access support; and develop more empathy, acceptance, and compassion for themselves and their children. Yet, parent technology use also has the potential to create distractions and disrupt parent–child interactions, which may make it more difficult for parents to listen with full attention, maintain awareness of their own and their child’s emotions, and calmly respond to child behaviors with intentionality. Technology use may also create more opportunities for social comparisons and judgement, making it more difficult for parents to accept their children nonjudgmentally and have compassion for their children as they are. Future research is needed to understand the conditions under which technology use can hinder or promote mindful parenting and how interventions can promote mindful parenting skills and a positive uses of technology.