The Role of Mindful Parenting in Individual and Social Decision-Making in Children

Determinants of mindful parenting: a cross-cultural examination of parent and child reports

Based on Belsky’s process of parenting model and its recent update, the present study aims to explore multiple determinants of mindful parenting (i.e., parents’ psychological distress, child negative emotionality, and parental social support) across the UK and Türkiye using a multi-informant approach and multiple-group path analysis. We considered both parents’ and children’s perceptions of mindful parenting to obtain a complete picture of the mindful parenting process within families. Parents and their children aged 11–16 years were recruited in the UK (N = 101, Mchild age = 13.06 years, SDchild age = 1.64 years) and Türkiye (N = 162, Mchild age = 13.28 years, SDchild age = 1.65 years). Multiple-group path analysis revealed that both parent and child perspectives of mindful parenting are multiply determined. Parental psychological distress mediated the associations of child negative emotionality and social support with mindful parenting in both cultures. However, child negative emotionality was a direct determinant of mindful parenting in the UK only. Overall, our study shed light on both individual and cultural differences in the mindful parenting process. Limitations of the current research and recommendations and implications for future mindful parenting research and practices were discussed.

Differential Contributions of Parental Warmth and Mindfulness to Child Executive Function and Pediatric Type 1 Diabetes Management

OBJECTIVE

Positive parenting (e.g., parental warmth, mindful parenting) has been posited to promote effective pediatric type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) management. This promotive effect may partly be conferred by fostering child self-regulatory development, such as executive function (EF). However, no research has examined whether better child EF serves as a mechanism underlying associations between positive parenting and child blood glucose levels (HbA1c). Moreover, it is unclear whether mindful parenting offers a unique benefit beyond that of parental warmth-a key pillar of effective parental involvement in T1DM management.

METHODS

Primary caregivers of children with T1DM (N = 101; Mage = 12.02) reported on parenting behaviors and child EF. Children's medical information was obtained through chart review. Path analysis was used to examine direct and indirect relations in the cross-sectional data.

RESULTS

The path analysis indicated that only parental warmth, not mindful parenting, was significantly associated with lower HbA1c. Both parental warmth and mindful parenting were significantly related to better child EF, but child EF did not mediate the associations between parenting and HbA1c.

CONCLUSION

Parental warmth may constitute a key parenting behavior promoting effective pediatric T1DM management. Enhancing parental warmth may be an important target of interventions aiming to improve HbA1c. Although child EF was unrelated to HbA1c in this sample, given positive associations between parental warmth and mindfulness and child EF, longitudinal research is warranted to examine whether these positive parenting behaviors may confer long-term benefits for T1DM self-management through improved EF.

I Want More! The Role of Child, Family and Maternal Characteristics on Child Dispositional Greed and Sharing Behavior

Abstract

Greed is often regarded as a negative trait that impedes prosocial behavior in adults. Yet, relatively little is known about the development of greed and its effects on children. We examine the effect of dispositional greed on sharing behavior in 4-to-6-year-olds. In addition, we identified potential factors associated with child greed, including child, family, and maternal characteristics. This study with 63 mother–child dyads (Agechild = 5.11, SD = 0.88, 50.8% female) revealed that child greed was associated with less prosocial behavior in an observational sharing task. More specifically, children who were reported as greedier by their mothers shared less than less greedy children. Having fewer siblings, less mindful maternal parenting style, and high maternal trait anxiety was associated with higher dispositional greed in children. Additionally, their mother rated greedier children as having higher negative affectivity. These findings suggest that child greed is an important developmental trait that warrants further investigation.

Highlights

• 63 mother–child dyads revealed that child greed was associated with less pro-social behavior in an observational sharing task

• Child greed was associated with higher rates of child negative affectivity.

• Having fewer siblings, less mindful parenting style, high maternal trait anxiety predicted dispositional greed in 4-to-6-year-old children

Analysis of the Relationship Between Psychological Well-Being and Decision Making in Adolescent Students

Adolescents are frequently faced with situations in which they have to make decisions by choosing from a range of possible alternatives. In such circumstances, individual, social, and environmental conditions have an impact on the choice of the final decision in light of the various options presented. The main objective of this study is to analyze the relationship between the psychological well-being of adolescent students and their decision-making style. The research method used corresponds to an ex post facto, quantitative, transversal, correlational, and descriptive design, with an initial sample of 1,262 students from the Autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain, aged 13–19. A subsequent resampling of 385 participants was extracted from the initial sample by proportional allocation to strata (according to the levels of the variables gender, academic year, and educational institution classification) to guarantee the representativeness of the population data. Data collection uses the first Spanish adaptation of Ryff's Psychological well-being Scale and the Flinders Adolescent Decision Making Questionnaire, adapted by Friedman and Mann. The data shows that greater use of adaptive decision-making strategies correlates significantly with greater psychological well-being. In contrast, the correlation is high and negative at the intersection of the maladaptive decision-making variables and psychological well-being.

Mindful Parenting is Associated with Adolescents' Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Through Adolescents' Psychological Inflexibility and Self-Compassion

The acquisition and mastery of emotion regulation is one of the most important developmental tasks of adolescence. Difficulties in regulating emotions are one of the most robust risk factors for the development of difficulties and psychopathology. This study investigates whether a mindful parenting style is associated with adolescent's difficulties in emotion regulation and whether adolescents' self-compassion and psychological inflexibility mediate this association. This study also explores gender and age differences in study variables and the moderating role of adolescents' gender and stage of adolescence in the mediation model. A total of 375 mother-adolescent dyads participated in the study. The adolescents had a mean age of 14.19 years (SD = 1.67; range = 12-19 years) and 59.5% were girls. The mindful parenting dimensions of compassion for the child and nonjudgmental acceptance of parental functioning were indirectly associated with difficulties in emotion regulation through self-compassion, whereas the mindful parenting dimension of listening with full attention was indirectly associated with difficulties in emotion regulation through psychological inflexibility. Some associations were only significant for girls. These findings suggest that mindful parenting is a possible vehicle to foster adaptive emotion regulation in adolescents by facilitating their self-compassion and psychological flexibility.