1-127 - Mindful Parenting: Extending Mindfulness to Parent-Child Relationships to Promote Well-Being and Improve Family Functioning

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Mindfulness is defined as “paying attention in the present moment on purpose and nonjudgmentally” (Kabat-Zinn, 2003). Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (Kabat-Zinn, 1990) and related interventions targeting adult well-being have demonstrated efficacy in improving intra-personal psychological functioning among adults (Goyal et al., 2014). Mindful parenting, or the extension of mindfulness to the interpersonal context of parent-child relationships (Duncan, Coatsworth, & Greenberg, 2009), has recently become a topic of basic and applied research aimed at better understanding healthy family functioning and enhancing parent and child well-being (e.g., Bögels et al., 2010). Mindful parenting has been shown to be beneficial among parents with substance use problems (Dawe & Harnett, 2007) as well as parents of children with developmental disabilities (Singh et al., 2006; 2007). Parents who report higher levels of mindfulness also report more authoritative parenting (Williams & Wahler, 2010) and intervening with families to teach them specific mindful parenting strategies has led to improvements in the affective quality of mother-youth relationships, mediated through mindful parenting (Coatsworth et al., 2010). Mindfulness training also appears to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression across the transition to parenthood (Vieten & Astin, 2008; Duncan & Bardacke, 2010). We propose that mindful parenting facilitates healthier adaptation in relation to several factors that may negatively impact parent-child relationships from infancy through adolescence, including parenting stress, postpartum depression, and parent-child communication challenges. This symposium includes results from studies in two countries conducted by three research groups currently investigating the potential value of mindful parenting as a protective factor in family processes.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Larissa G. Duncan, UCSF

Individual Presentations

• A Role for Mindfulness in Reducing Parenting Stress - Presenting Author: April Lightcap, University of Oregon; Dorianne Wright, University of Oregon; Laura Noll, University of Oregon; Heidemarie Laurent, University of Oregon

• Parental Interpersonal Mindfulness as a Protective Factor Against Postpartum Depression - Presenting Author: Benjamin Nelson, Univ of Oregon; Laura Noll, University of Oregon; Dorianne Wright, University of Oregon; Heidemarie Laurent, University of Oregon

• Understanding How Mindful Parenting May Promote Youth Disclosure, Parental Solicitation, and Parental Knowledge - Presenting Author: Melissa A Lippold, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Larissa G. Duncan, UCSF; J. Douglas Coatsworth, Colorado State University; Mark T Greenberg, Pennsylvania State University

• Mindful Parenting in Mental Health Care: Effects on Parents and Children - Presenting Author: Susan M. Bögels, Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; Esther de Bruin, University of Amsterdam; Renee Meppelink, University of Amsterdam