Effects of Mindful Breathing on Parents’ Mindfulness, Stress, and Happiness: A Multiple-baseline Pilot Study
Caleb D. Farley, Tyler L. Renshaw, Paul Caldarella
Journal of Child and Family Studies September 18, 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s10826-025-03163-3 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Single-case design pilot study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 4 |
| Population | Parents with clinically elevated stress levels who had a child experiencing clinical levels of behavior problems |
| Intervention | Mindful breathing exercise |
| Dose | twice a day for 14 days |
| Duration | 14-day intervention phase |
| Measures | single-item ratings of mindfulness processes (awareness and acceptance) and stress; weekly multi-item rating scales of mindfulness and stress |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Psychological intervention Intervention counseling Stress reduction Clinical psychology Physical therapy Happiness Stress linguistics Psychotherapist Stress management Breathing exercises |
| Key findings | Practicing a daily mindful breathing exercise had a functional relationship with gradual improvements in parents' awareness, stress, and happiness, but not with changes in acceptance. |
Abstract
Abstract Mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be mild to moderately effective at decreasing the stress of parents raising children with behavior difficulties. However, questions surround whether mindfulness practices cause changes in specific mindfulness processes—present-moment awareness and responding with acceptance—and how these changes relate to decreased stress. This single-case design pilot study examined how practicing a daily mindfulness exercise affected parents’ mindfulness processes, stress, and happiness over time. Participants were four parents with clinically elevated levels of stress who had a child experiencing clinical levels of behavior problems. Each participated in a non-intervention baseline phase and then was introduced to an audio-recorded mindful breathing exercise. In the intervention phase, participants were asked to complete the mindful breathing exercise twice a day for 14 days. Across phases, participants completed daily single-item ratings of mindfulness processes (i.e., awareness and acceptance) and stress as well as weekly probes of mindfulness and stress using multi-item rating scales. Results showed that practicing the mindfulness exercise had a functional relationship with gradual improvements in participants’ awareness, stress, and happiness; however, a functional relationship was not supported between practicing the mindfulness exercise and changes in acceptance. We conclude that practicing mindful breathing consistently through small and simple daily exercises appears beneficial for improving some aspects of mindfulness and decreasing stress for parents with children demonstrating significant behavioral problems. Changes in mindfulness and desired outcomes may depend, in part, on the consistency with which specific mindfulness processes are practiced. Recommendations for future research and practice are discussed.
Comparable studies
Other non-randomized and open-label trials on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in Relation to Quality of Life, Mood, Symptoms of Stress, and Immune Parameters in Breast and Prostate Cancer Outpatients Early-stage breast and prostate cancer patients | 2003 | Pre-post intervention study | n = 59 |
| Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Community sample | 2010 | Pre-post intervention study | |
| Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Lowers Psychological Distress In Medical Students Second-year medical students | 2003 | Prospective nonrandomized cohort-controlled study | n = 302 |
| Intensive meditation training, immune cell telomerase activity, and psychological mediators. Retreat participants and matched controls | 2011 | Controlled trial with wait-list control group | n = 60 |
| The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training for Children with ADHD and Mindful Parenting for their Parents Children aged 8-12 with ADHD and their parents | 2011 | Within-group waitlist controlled trial | n = 22 |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine May 1, 2009
- Mindfulness Interventions for College Students with ADHD: A Multiple Single Case Research Design Journal of College Student Psychotherapy March 22, 2018
- Differential effects of mindfulness meditation conditions on repetitive negative thinking and subjective time perspective: a randomized active-controlled study Psychology and Health October 23, 2020
- The effectiveness of mindful parenting programs in promoting parents' and children's wellbeing: a systematic review. JBI database of systematic reviews and implementation reports March 2016
and 2 more in the library