The Effectiveness of Mindful Parenting on Components of Child-Parent Interaction in Mothers of Children with Externalizing Behavior

Abstract

Introduction and Aim: Children with externalizing behavior face many problems and challenges in life. Therefore, the aim of the present study was determine the effectiveness of mindful parenting on components of child-parent interaction in mothers of children with externalizing behavior.

Methodology: The present research was a quasi-experimental study with a pretest, posttest, and two-month follow-up design with a control group. The population of this study was all mothers of children with externalizing behavior aged 6 to 12 years in the two region of Isfahan city in the winter of 2024 year, which from them 30 mothers were selected using a available sampling method and randomly assigned into two equal groups. The experimental group underwent 8 sessions of 70 to 90 minutes of mindful parenting intervention, and the control group remained on the waiting list for the intervention. The data of the present study were collected using the Child-Parent Relationship Scale (Pianta, 1992) and analyzed using the methods of chi-square, analysis of variance with repeated measures and Bonferroni post hoc test in SPSS-26 software.

Findings: The results of this study showed that mindful parenting reduced the conflict and dependency components in the child-parent interaction variable in mothers of children with externalizing behavior, and the results remained at the follow-up stage (P<0.05), but mindful parenting did not change intimacy at the post-test and follow-up stages (P>0.05).

Conclusion: According to the results of the present study, in order to reduce conflict and dependency in parent-child communication and interaction can be used the mindful parenting alongside other effective educational methods.