The effects of parental mindfulness on preschoolers' prosocial behavior: the chain mediating model of marital quality, authoritative parenting, and the sex difference.
Mengmeng Zhang, Lei Qiao, Yijing Zhang, Li Li, Shangning Zhao, Tosin Yinka Akintunde, Xiantong Yang
Frontiers in Psychology February 12, 2026 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1703808 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 754 |
| Population | Chinese parents of preschool children |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Preschool children Marital quality Prosocial behavior Authoritative parenting |
| Key findings | Parental mindfulness was positively associated with marital quality, authoritative parenting, and preschoolers' prosocial behavior. Marital quality and authoritative parenting mediated this association both independently and sequentially. All paths were significant for boys, but for girls only the authoritative parenting path and the sequential marital-quality/authoritative-parenting path were significant, with larger effect sizes for those paths in the girl group. |
Abstract
Family system factors have been consistently linked to children's prosocial behavior. However, the mechanisms underlying these associations remain unclear. Drawing on family system theory, attachment theory, and social learning theory, the present study examined the associations between parental mindfulness and preschoolers' prosocial behavior, as well as the mediating roles of marital quality and authoritative parenting, using data from 754 Chinese parents of preschool children. Results indicated that parental mindfulness was positively associated with marital quality, authoritative parenting, and preschoolers' prosocial behavior. In addition, parental mindfulness was indirectly associated with prosocial behavior through marital quality and authoritative parenting, both independently and sequentially. Multigroup comparison revealed all paths were significant in the boy group. However, in the girl group, only the independent mediating effect of authoritative parenting and the chain mediation effect of marital quality and authoritative parenting were significant. Notably, the effect size was larger in the girl group for both the independent mediating path of authoritative parenting and the chain mediation path of marital quality and authoritative parenting. Overall, these findings clarify the relational and parenting processes linking parental mindfulness with preschoolers' prosocial behavior.
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 |