Abstract
ObjectivesThe prevalence of maternal stress in early years of parenting can negatively impact child development. Therefore, there is a need for an early intervention that is easily accessible and low in costs. The current study examined the effectiveness of an 8-session online mindful parenting training for mothers with elevated levels of parental stress.MethodsA total of 76 mothers were randomized into an intervention (n = 43) or a waitlist control group (n = 33). The intervention group completed pretest assessment prior to the online intervention. Participants completed a post intervention assessment after the 10 weeks intervention and a follow-up assessment 10 weeks later. The waitlist group completed waitlist assessment, followed by a 10-week waitlist period. After these 10 weeks, a pretest assessment took place, after which the waitlist group participants also started the intervention, followed by the posttest assessment. Participating mothers completed questionnaires on parental stress (parent-child interaction problems, parenting problems, parental role restriction) and other maternal (over-reactive parenting discipline, self-compassion, symptoms of depression and anxiety) and child outcomes (aggressive behavior and emotional reactivity) while the non-participating parents (father or another mother) were asked to also report on child outcomes.ResultsThe online mindful parenting intervention was shown to be significantly more effective at a 95% level than a waitlist period with regard to over-reactive parenting discipline and symptoms of depression and anxiety (small and medium effect sizes), and significantly more effective at a 90% level with regard to self-compassion, and mother-rated child aggressive behavior and child emotional reactivity (small effect sizes). The primary outcome, parental stress, was found to have a 95% significant within-group effect only for the subscale parental role restriction (delayed small effect size improvement at follow-up). No significant improvements on child outcomes were found for the non-participating parent.ConclusionTo conclude, the results provide first evidence that an online mindful parenting training may be an easily accessible and valuable intervention for mothers with elevated levels of parental stress.
Highlights
A child’s social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive and physical development in the first years of life is an important foundation for later development (Briggs-Gowan et al, 2006; Feldman and Eidelman, 2009; Bornstein et al, 2010)
This study investigated the effectiveness of an online mindful parenting training for mothers with young children who experience parental stress
This study evaluated the effectiveness of an 8-week online mindful parenting training for mothers with young children who experience parental stress
Summary
A child’s social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive and physical development in the first years of life is an important foundation for later development (Briggs-Gowan et al, 2006; Feldman and Eidelman, 2009; Bornstein et al, 2010). Parental stress does have negative consequences for child development via certain parenting practices and behaviors, but is directly related to problems in social, emotional and behavioral development (Anthony et al, 2005; Crnic et al, 2005). A prospective study that investigated parental stress and child behavior problems in families with children aged 3 to 9, showed that a high level of child behavior problems is a risk factor for parental stress and vice versa (Anthony et al, 2005; Neece et al, 2012). A vicious cycle with increasing levels of both parental stress and child behavior problems can lead to negative consequences for the quality of the parent-child interaction and the security of their relationship (Ciciolla et al, 2014; Lewallen and Neece, 2015)
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