Poster #147 - Self-compassion’s Links with Lower Parenting Stress among New Mothers: Mindful Parenting as a Mediator

• In Event: 3-003 - Poster Session 09
  In Poster Session: PS 09 Section - Parenting & Parent-Child Relationships

Integrative Statement

BACKGROUND: During the transition to parenthood, new mothers face many challenges in the physical, emotional, psychological, and social domains. Poor navigation of the transition to parenthood may increase mothers’ stress and can result in negative consequences for both mother and child. Mothers’ experience of stress during the transition to parenthood is especially critical because it may have detrimental effects on their own psychological well-being (Perren, von Wyl, Bürgin, Simoni, von Klitzing, 2005), their interactions with their child (Crnic, Gaze, Hoffman, 2005), and the child’s development (Howard, 2010). One intrapersonal psychological attribute that may improve stress related to the demands of parenthood is self-compassion. When mothers offer kindness and understanding toward themselves during periods of parenting challenges, they may experience more positive evaluations about themselves as parents (Bögels et al. 2010) and less self-criticism about their parenting skills (Psychogiou et al., 2016). Mindful parenting, which is an extension of mindfulness from the intrapersonal to the interpersonal interactions of parent-child relationships (Duncan et al., 2009), may help mothers to extend compassion to themselves and their interaction with their child and improve stress related to parenting. The present study investigates the mediating role of mindful parenting in the relation between self-compassion and parenting stress among mothers of infants.
METHODS: The current study is a secondary analysis of data from an intervention pilot trial. It involves N=40 first time mothers of infants living in an urban area on the West coast. The average age of mothers at baseline was 33.6 years old (SD=3.71). The majority of the mothers self-identified as either White/Caucasian (60%) and were either married or partnered with the father of their child (97.5%). They were mostly highly-educated women with a graduate or professional degree (72.5%), and an income higher than $110,000 (80%). Mothers reported on mindful parenting, parenting stress, self-compassion at Time 1 (average infant age 10.4 weeks, SD=7.08), Time 2 (8 weeks later), and Time 3 (3 months later), respectively.
RESULTS: Mediation analysis demonstrated that self-compassion at Time 1 predicted higher levels of mindful parenting 8 weeks later (Time 2) (β=7.7672, p=.008), and that mindful parenting at Time 2 predicted lower levels of parenting stress three months later (Time 3) (β=-.7.85, p=.008). Self-compassion at Time 1 was no longer a significant predictor of parenting stress at Time 3 after controlling for mindful parenting at time 2 (β=-3.82, p=.362). The mediation analysis revealed significant indirect effect of self-compassion at Time 1 on parenting stress at time 3 via mindful parenting at Time 2 (β=-6.10 95% CI [-12.919, -.906]), indicating full mediation.
CONCLUSIONS: The study highlights the potential benefit of self-compassion in reducing parenting stress through promoting mindful parenting. Practicing mindful parenting and cultivating moment-by-moment awareness and kindness to the self and child during parent-child interactions may be an important protective process for mothers of infants in coping with parenting-related stress during the transition to parenthood.

Authors

• Christina N Kim, Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of Wisconsin-Madison
  Presenting Author

• Margaret Lee Kerr, University of Wisconsin, Madison
  Non-Presenting Author

• Larissa Duncan, The University of Wisconsin at Madison
  Non-Presenting Author