Parent Mindfulness, Parenting, and Child Psychopathology in China

Abstract

ObjectivesConsidering the Western-Eastern cultural differences in parenting practices, as well as the relative paucity of research on the use of mindfulness-based programs by Chinese parents, we replicated a recently proposed Western model of mindfulness. The purpose of this study was to test the direct and indirect relations between parents’ dispositional mindfulness, mindful parenting, parenting practices, and child internalizing and externalizing behaviors.MethodA total of 2237 Chinses parents (M = 38.46, SD = 4.43) of 6- to 12-year-old children participated in the current study.ResultsThe results showed that parents’ dispositional mindfulness was indirectly associated with child internalizing and externalizing behaviors through mindful parenting and positive parenting practices, whereas this pathway was not significant through negative parenting practices. In addition, mothers and fathers demonstrated almost equal effects on direct and indirect pathways except that mothers showed stronger effects on the relationships between dispositional mindfulness and mindful parenting, as well as on the link between negative parenting practices and child externalizing behaviors.ConclusionsThese findings contribute to a better understanding of the mechanisms underlying how mindfulness and parenting associated with child internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and have important implications for research on interventions aimed at promoting children’s psychological well-being.