Understanding How Mindful Parenting May Be Linked to Mother–Adolescent Communication

Abstract

Researchers have sought to understand the processes that may promote effective parent-adolescent communication because of the strong links to adolescent adjustment. Mindfulness, a relatively new construct in Western psychology that derives from ancient Eastern traditions, has been shown to facilitate communication and to be beneficial when applied in the parenting context. In this article, we tested if and how mindful parenting was linked to routine adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation within a longitudinal sample of rural and suburban, early adolescents and their mothers (n = 432; mean adolescent age = 12.14, 46% male, 72% Caucasian). We found that three factors -- negative parental reactions to disclosure, adolescent feelings of parental over-control, and the affective quality of the parent-adolescent relationship -- mediated the association between mindful parenting and adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation. Results suggest that mindful parenting may improve mother-adolescent communication by reducing parental negative reactions to information, adolescent perceptions of over-control, and by improving the affective quality of the parent-adolescent relationship. The discussion highlights intervention implications and future directions for research.

Cascading Resilience: Leverage Points in Promoting Parent and Child Well‐Being

“…This finding suggests that biological processes may contribute to increased coping capacity and social support as habits of resilience are formed. Another study found that interventions that increased mindfulness in parenting were related to increased positive affective behavior toward children and the increased effectiveness of a parenting prevention program (Coatsworth et al, ; Lippold, Duncan, Coatsworth, Nix, & Greenberg, ). These studies suggest that attention to intrapersonal processes (e.g., processes within the parents) could contribute to relational processes and the long‐term effectiveness of parenting programs.…”

Supporting Parents: How Six Decades of Parenting Research Can Inform Policy and Best Practice

“…Duncan, Coatsworth, and Greenberg (2009) identifi ed fi ve key elements to mindful parenting: (1) attentive listening during parent-child exchanges; (2) being aware of, and regulating, one's own reactions; (3) attending to one's own and the child's emotions as they evolve during an exchange; (4) nonjudgmental acceptance of one's own and the child's reactions during an exchange; and (5) an overall sense of compassion and concern for oneself and the child. Such mindfulness is associated with better parent-child communication (Lippold, Duncan, Coatsworth, Nix, & Greenberg, 2015), better anger management and more positive emotion during interactions (Coatsworth, Duncan, Greenberg, & Nix, 2010), and less child noncompliance and aggression (Singh et al, 2006).…”

The Indirect Effect of the Mindful Parenting of Mothers and Fathers on the Child’s Perceived Well-Being Through the Child’s Attachment to Parents

“…As a result, mindful parenting can foster more positive parent-child interactions (Coatsworth et al 2010;Dumas 2005;Duncan et al 2009a;Duncan et al 2015;Lippold et al 2015). For instance, Duncan et al (2015) found that parents with high levels of mindful parenting, compared to those with low levels, exhibited less harsh and more consistent discipline, greater warmth, more positive communication and more positive parenting behaviors in observed dyadic interactions with their children.…”

“…Other studies have demonstrated that intervention programs aimed at promoting general mindfulness or mindful parenting can indeed increase the quality of parenting and the parent-child relationship (Bögels and Restifo 2014;Coatsworth et al 2015;Lippold et al 2015;Singh et al 2006;van der Oord et al 2012). For instance, Coatsworth et al (2010) found that mothers who participated in a mindfulness-enhanced Strengthening Families Program exhibited higher levels of mindful parenting and greater improvements in several aspects of the parent-child relationship (e.g., anger management and affective behavior towards children) when compared with mothers in a control group or who participated in the regular Strengthening Families Program (i.e., without the mindful parenting component).…”

“…The few existing studies have shown that mothers demonstrate higher levels of mindful parenting than fathers (Moreira and Canavarro 2015a;Parent et al 2016). In addition, the majority of studies have only considered specific age groups (for example, adolescence; Duncan et al 2015;Geurtzen et al 2015;Lippold et al 2015), which prevents the investigation of developmental specificities in mindful parenting. It is also important to note that research on mindful parenting has been mainly conducted on clinical samples of children or parents with psychopathology (Beer et al 2013;Singh et al 2006;van der Oord et al 2012) and has been primarily dedicated to the evaluation of the efficacy of mindfulness-based parenting programs (e.g., Coatsworth et al 2010Coatsworth et al , 2015van der Oord et al, 2012).…”