Parent Engagement in Online Mindfulness Exercises Within a Parent Training Program for Post-Deployed Military Families.
Na Zhang, Jessie H Rudi, Osnat Zamir, Abigail H. Gewirtz
Mindfulness September 19, 2017 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-017-0810-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Non-experimental study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 370 |
| Population | Military parents at risk for impaired parenting due to deployment-related stress |
| Duration | 6-month follow-up |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Prevention Parenting Online Military families |
| Key findings | Nearly half (44.6%) of military parents engaged with online mindfulness exercises in a web-enhanced parent training program; attendance at face-to-face group sessions and being a mother were associated with greater engagement. Engaged parents reported increased dispositional mindfulness at 6-month follow-up, but only mothers' engagement accounted for a significant proportion (3%) of the variance in dispositional mindfulness after controlling for covariates. |
Abstract
Mindfulness has drawn increased attention in prevention programs targeting parents. Commonly, mindfulness-based programs are provided to reduce parental stress and improve child outcomes. Less often, researchers incorporate a mindfulness-informed approach, integrating a low dose of mindfulness exercises into an existing evidence-based parent training model. Little is known about participant engagement with mindfulness exercises in such programs. This non-experimental study focuses on families who are at risk for impaired parenting due to the unique stressor of a parent's deployment to war. The goal is to examine military parents' online engagement in mindfulness exercises and associations between engagement and dispositional mindfulness within a web-enhanced parent training program. Online tracking records and self-reported data were obtained from 370 military parents (207 families) who were assigned to the program; at 6-month follow-up, 68.6% of these parents were retained (at least one parent reported from 75.4% of families). Results showed that nearly half (44.6%) of the parents engaged with the exercises. Participants who attended face-to-face group sessions (i.e., attendees) engaged throughout the intervention period whereas participants who never attended group sessions (i.e., non-attendees) mostly engaged during the first month in the program. Attendees and mothers engaged more than non-attendees and fathers. While engaged parents self-reported increased dispositional mindfulness at 6-month follow-up compared to baseline, only mothers' engagement accounted for a significant proportion of the variance (3%) in dispositional mindfulness at 6-month follow-up, after controlling for covariates. Implications for incorporating online mindfulness exercises into parent training are discussed in the context of programming for military families.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 14
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
- Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for depression August 21, 2006
- What defines mindfulness-based programs? The warp and the weft Psychological Medicine December 29, 2016
and 9 more in the library