Mindful parenting is a burgeoning research interest, but there are still significant gaps in the literature. This PhD thesis addressed these gaps by first conducting a systematic narrative review to conceptualise a Process of the Mindful Parenting Model. Results indicated that mindful parenting might be multiply determined by characteristics of parents, children, family social environment, and parenting stress, but child perspectives on mindful parenting have been overlooked. To address this, this thesis developed and validated parallel the Mindful Parenting Inventories for Parents (MPIP) and Children (MPIC) in mothers and their typically developing children aged 11-16 years in the UK and T端rkiye. MPIP/MPIC consisting of 18 items and four factors, showed promise in measuring mindful parenting from mother and child perspectives in both cultures, with acceptable validity.
Second, this thesis empirically tested the Process of the Mindful Parenting Model across cultures, utilising MPIP/MPIC. Specifically, I examined whether child temperament, social support, and parental psychological distress influenced mother- and child-reported mindful parenting in the UK and T端rkiye. Results revealed that child negative emotionality was a direct predictor of mindful parenting in the UK only. However, child negative emotionality and social support were indirect predictors of mindful parenting through maternal psychological distress in both cultures.
Then, I explored the mediating and moderating roles of mindful parenting in the relationship between household chaos and child problem behaviours across cultures. Results showed that household chaos was a significant indirect predictor of child problem behaviours via mindful parenting in both countries. Furthermore, mindful parenting moderated the link between household chaos and child problem behaviours in the UK.
Additional research is encouraged to thoroughly examine the factor structure and validity of MPIP/MPIC and the Process of the Mindful Parenting Model across diverse cultures and populations. Furthermore, exploring bidirectional associations within the model would also be beneficial.