The Five Domains of Mindful Parenting and Parenting Stress in Mothers of Toddlers

Parenting stress is related to negative health outcomes and may be high during toddlerhood due to unique challenges. Understanding factors associated with lower parenting stress could inform intervention design. Mindful parenting, present-centered nonjudgmental attention to the parent–child context, is one factor that has been associated with lower parenting stress. Knowledge about the unique associations between each mindful parenting domain and parenting stress is limited. This study examined associations between the 5 domains of mindful parenting (Listening With Full Attention, Nonjudgmental Acceptance, Emotional Awareness, Self-Regulation, and Compassion for Self and Child) and parenting stress. Sociodemographic and psychosocial factors were selected as covariates because these have been associated with parenting stress levels in previous research. We hypothesized that all mindful parenting domains would be negatively associated with parenting stress and the association between parenting stress and Nonjudgmental Acceptance would be the strongest, in line with previous research. Mothers of toddlers (N = 182; Mage = 32.33, SD = 5.26) were recruited online and self-reported their mindful parenting and parenting stress levels. Separate multiple regression models indicated that each mindful parenting domain was negatively associated with parenting stress, after adjusting for covariates (range: bs = -6.68 to -9.33; SEs = 1.75 to 1.04; βs = -.27 to -.51; ts[177] = -4.06 to -8.42; ps < .001). When scores for all mindful parenting domains were modeled simultaneously, only Listening With Full Attention and Compassion for Self and Child remained associated with parenting stress, after adjusting for covariates (Listening With Full Attention: b = -6.48, SE = 1.20, β = -.38, t[173] = -5.40, p < .001, 95% CI [-8.85, -4.11]; Compassion for Self and Child: b = -4.84, SE = 1.64, β = -.23, t[173] = -2.94, p = .004, 95% CI [-8.08, -1.59]). The results suggest that active listening and compassion could be investigated as targets of stress management interventions for parents.