Bidirectional longitudinal relationships between parents' marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and self-compassion in China.

Abstract

Abundant research has shown that self-compassion robustly contributes to adults' psychological well-being. Meanwhile, a few studies have shown that self-compassion is rooted in early experiences with parents. However, it is unclear whether interactions with partners and children affect adults' self-compassion, and the role of their self-compassion in interactions with significant others. This study examined bidirectional longitudinal relationships between Chinese parents' marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and self-compassion following a three-wave longitudinal design. A sample of 322 Chinese father-mother dyads (father's Mage =35.84, SDage =5.76; mother's Mage =34.32, SDage =5.46) completed a set of questionnaires at three time points. The results showed that marital satisfaction positively predicted the fathers' and mothers' self-compassion, while parenting stress did not significantly predict the parents' self-compassion; In contrast, parents' self-compassion did not significantly predict marital satisfaction or parenting stress. Additionally, there was a bidirectional relationship between marital satisfaction and parenting stress in fathers and mothers. Finally, mothers' marital satisfaction positively mediated the relationship between parenting stress and self-compassion/next-stage parenting stress. This study revealed that adults' self-compassion can develop from caring and supportive relationships, including marital relationships. Highlighting key mechanisms of marital satisfaction, such as increasing self-compassion and reducing parenting stress, may contribute to the improvement of adults' mental health.