Examining child stress response, parenting and relationship-related changes associated with a dyadic mindfulness and self-compassion program.
Christine Lathren, Jessica L Borelli, Rosemary Ellsworth, Elondra Harr, Samantha DiMaio, Jamie Lynn Tatera, Veronica Diaz, Karen Bluth, Ryan J Herringa, Sara A. Heyn
Frontiers in Psychology October 15, 2026 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2026.1933287 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Uncontrolled pre-post intervention study Randomized Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 23 |
| Population | Caregiver-child dyads; children mean age 8.78 years, caregivers mean age 41.2 years |
| Intervention | Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Children and Caregivers (MSC-CC) course |
| Duration | Six weekly group sessions; pre- and post-intervention assessments |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Stress Self-compassion School-aged Dyadic Parent–child |
| Registration | NCT05818397 |
| Key points | Participation in the MSC-CC course was associated with pre-post increases in parenting and emotion-supportive beliefs and decreases in child physiological arousal during a dyadic stressor task. Exploratory moderation analyses suggest that low baseline mindfulness and high reflective functioning predicted the largest reductions in child stress physiology. The authors state the study was uncontrolled and that findings need confirmation in a randomized controlled trial. |
Abstract
Introduction: Interventions that dyadically equip families with self-compassion skills represent a promising approach for addressing mental health challenges, particularly during the key transitional period of middle childhood. This study examines changes and candidate processes associated with participation in the Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Children and Caregivers (MSC-CC) course.
Methods: Twenty-three caregiver-child dyads (Child, M age=8.78; Caregiver, M age=41.2) participated in MSC-CC, delivered remotely over six weekly group sessions. Pre- and post-intervention assessments included self-report measures of parenting and relational closeness outcomes during a dyadic stressor task (behavior, reflective functioning[RF], and physiology). Analyses investigated pre-post change in primary outcomes and linear mixed-effects models estimated time-related changes and baseline moderators of physiological change. Significance tests identify pre-post increases in parenting and emotion-supportive beliefs. Results and
Discussion: Physiologically, we detected significant decreases in child physiological arousal. Exploratory moderation analyses suggest, among others, low levels of mindfulness and high RF at baseline predict the largest reductions in child stress physiology. While uncontrolled, the MSC-CC participation was associated with increases in mindful parenting and the caregiver-child relationship and lower child physiological arousal during a dyadic challenge, most prominently in families with lower emotion-supportive beliefs at baseline. Altogether, this highlights candidate processes and moderators of efficacy to be confirmed in a fully powered randomized controlled trial.
Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, Self-Compassion for Children and Caregivers (SCCC), NCT05818397, registration and study start on 2023-10-16.
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 |