Resource Gain or Stress Buffer? The Chain Mediation Path of Mindfulness in Relieving Parenting Burnout of Parents of Children with ADHD
Saisai Hu, Ruirui Li, Tingting Yang, Qiangyan Hou, Dandan Tong, Haiqing Wang
preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-9264815/v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study |
|---|---|
| Population | Parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Mindfulness was associated with lower parental burnout primarily through higher psychological capital and lower parenting stress, with psychological capital and parenting stress acting as sequential mediators. After including these mediators, the direct association between mindfulness and parental burnout was no longer significant, indicating full mediation. The authors describe this as a dual pathway of resource gain and stress buffering. |
Abstract
Abstract Background Parents of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often face persistent and intensive caregiving demands, which may increase their vulnerability to parental burnout. Based on Conservation of Resources theory, this study examined the association between mindfulness and parental burnout among parents of children with ADHD and investigated the serial mediating roles of psychological capital and parenting stress.
Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, this study tested a hypothesized serial mediation model with structural equation modeling (SEM). Mindfulness was specified as the independent variable, parental burnout as the outcome variable, and psychological capital and parenting stress as sequential mediators.
Results: The results showed that mindfulness was indirectly associated with parental burnout through three significant pathways: the independent mediating effect of psychological capital, the independent mediating effect of parenting stress, and the serial mediating effect of psychological capital and parenting stress. After the inclusion of the mediators, the direct association between mindfulness and parental burnout was no longer significant, indicating full mediation. Overall, mindfulness was associated with lower parental burnout primarily through higher psychological capital and lower parenting stress.
Conclusions: Psychological capital and parenting stress play important mediating roles in the association between mindfulness and parental burnout among parents of children with ADHD. These findings highlight a dual pathway of resource gain and stress buffering and provide empirical support for interventions targeting parental burnout through mindfulness-based approaches combined with psychological capital enhancement and parenting stress reduction.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |