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Gepubliceerd in: Mindfulness 2/2022

09-01-2022 | ORIGINAL PAPER

Caregivers’ Self-Compassion and Bereaved Children’s Adjustment: Testing Caregivers’ Mental Health and Parenting as Mediators

Auteurs: Na Zhang, Irwin Sandler, Jenn-Yun Tein, Sharlene Wolchik, Erin Donohue

Gepubliceerd in: Mindfulness | Uitgave 2/2022

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Abstract

Objectives

Self-compassion, which involves mindfulness, self-kindness, and common humanity, has been found to be related to individuals’ mental health. Few studies have examined caregivers’ self-compassion in relation to parenting behaviors and child adjustment in addition to its relation to their own mental health. In the current study we examined caregivers’ self-compassion as a protective factor related to parentally bereaved children’s internalizing and externalizing problems and further tested whether these relations were mediated by caregivers’ mental health (complicated grief and psychological distress) and parenting.

Methods

The sample consisted of 74 caregivers (female = 78.4%) who participated in a larger study designed for bereaved families. At T1 (baseline) and T2 (20 weeks later), caregivers completed measures on demographic information, self-compassion, complicated grief, parental warmth, and consistent discipline, as well as child internalizing and externalizing problems.

Results

Findings supported that caregivers’ self-compassion was prospectively related to decreased internalizing and externalizing problems in bereaved children. Mediation analyses showed that the effect of self-compassion on externalizing problems was mediated by parental warmth and by consistent discipline. In addition, caregivers’ self-compassion was prospectively associated with decreased complicated grief and psychological distress of the caregiver.

Conclusions

These findings add to the knowledge on the benefits of self-compassion for bereaved families and suggest that caregivers’ self-compassion intervention may be a leveraging point to protect both bereaved caregivers from complicated grief and distress but also to strengthen parenting which leads to bereaved children’s adjustment.
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Metagegevens
Titel
Caregivers’ Self-Compassion and Bereaved Children’s Adjustment: Testing Caregivers’ Mental Health and Parenting as Mediators
Auteurs
Na Zhang
Irwin Sandler
Jenn-Yun Tein
Sharlene Wolchik
Erin Donohue
Publicatiedatum
09-01-2022
Uitgeverij
Springer US
Gepubliceerd in
Mindfulness / Uitgave 2/2022
Print ISSN: 1868-8527
Elektronisch ISSN: 1868-8535
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01807-1

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