'Broaden and Build', 'Post Traumatic Growth' (PTG) and the idea that positive ... 'Broaden and Build': Cognitive flexibility and resilience through mindfulness.
Running Head: COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING
Questioning mindful parenting as an intervention for parents of children diagnosed with Autism: Evidence for cognitive flexibility and resilience as precursory requirements
Nadine Quinn
168816
Supervisor: Dr. Louise Metcalf
Date of Submission: 15 October 2017
Empirical thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the degree of Bachelor of Psychological Science (Honours) Australian College of Applied Psychology 2017
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING i Declaration
I, Nadine Quinn, declare that this thesis is my own work, based upon my own personal research/study and I have acknowledged all material and resources used in the execution of the research and the preparation of the thesis, whether they be books, articles, reports, or any other kind of document, including cloud based material, and personal communication. I also declare that this thesis has not been previously submitted for any unit or course of study at this or any other institution and that I have not copied in part or whole or otherwise plagiarised the work of another person or student. I understand that there may be severe penalties, including exclusion from the School and College, for providing a false declaration.
Australian College of Applied Psychology (ACAP) Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC) approval number: 357020617.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING ii Acknowledgements
First, I would like to extend my deepest thanks to my supervisor, Dr. Louise Metcalf, for your unwavering optimism, indefatigable energy, consistent support and encouragement and mostly for the steadfast belief in me that kept me going whenever I became plagued with self-doubt. Your patience, expertise, and contagious sense of wonder and excitement kept me going from week to week. I have learned so much from you. I can’t thank you enough.
To my partner Jason, and children Scarlett Rose and Oscar, I promise I will take a break now! Thank you for believing in me, loving me, being proud of me, supporting me always and being so understanding when I haven’t been the most ‘mindful’ of parents or partners to you all lately!
To the amazing Youth Matters crew, I promise to stop being the irritable, cranky, difficult to get along with, too often absent boss I always swore I’d never be. Thank you for your understanding and support throughout this year.
Lastly, thank you Dad, for believing in me and never giving up on me. Thank you for being the one telling me every day of my childhood that I could do anything I set my mind to if I worked hard enough and to never let anyone tell me that I can’t - especially me.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING iii
Table of Contents
Declaration ............................................................................................................................i
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. ii
List of Tables and Figures...................................................................................................iv
Abstract ............................................................................................................................ viii
Introduction
.............................................................................................. 1.
Negative psychological outcomes of raising a child with ASD....................... 3. Stress proliferation ........................................................................................... 3. Parenting style, stress and resilience ................................................................ 4. Mindfulness in parenting: an intervention to reduce child problem behaviours. ................................................................................................................ 6. Mindful parenting ............................................................................................ 7. A model of mindful parenting ................................................................ 8. An overview of past studies.................................................................... 9. Measuring mindfulness in parenting .................................................... 11. ‘Broaden and Build’, ‘Post Traumatic Growth’ (PTG) and the idea that positive emotions build psychological resources ........................................................................... 12.
Wellbeing and resilience ................................................................................ 13.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING iv Social support, wellbeing and resilience ........................................................15.
‘Broaden and Build’: Cognitive flexibility and resilience through mindfulness ........................................................................................................................ 16.
Aim and hypotheses .......................................................................................17.
Method
.....................................................................................................................18.
Participants .................................................................................................. 18. Procedure ..................................................................................................... 18. Materials ...................................................................................................... 19.
Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) ..................................................19. Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) ..................... 20. Flourishing Scale (FS) ..................................................................... 20. Cognitive Flexibility Index (CFI) .................................................... 21. Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R) .......................................... 21. Mini-IPIP ......................................................................................... 22. Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ) ............................ 22.
Results ...............................................................................................................................24.
One-way ANOVA .............................................................................................. 24. Independent samples T-Tests ............................................................................. 25. Reliability of measurement scales ...................................................................... 27. Bivariate correlations .......................................................................................... 28. Associations with pBOC ...................................................................... 28.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING v
Associations with resilience (P_RES) .................................................. 29. Associations with mindfulness in parenting (MIND_P) ......................29. Associations with trait openness (P_OPEN) ........................................ 29. Associations with optimism (P_OPT) ..................................................30. Associations with engagement in self-care practice (PRAC_SC) ........ 30. Associations with cognitive flexibility (P_CFLEX) ............................30. Associations with flourishing (P_FLOUR) ..........................................31. Associations with psychological wellbeing (SPANE_B) ..................... 31. Associations with frequency of mindfulness practice (PRAC_MIND) .... .............................................................................................................. 31. Associations with frequency of mindful parenting practice (PRAC_MP) .............................................................................................................. 31. Associations with age (AGE) ............................................................... 32. Associations with number of children (N_CHILD) ............................. 32.
Multiple Linear Regression on pBOC ................................................................ 34. Multiple Linear Regression on MIND_P ........................................................... 35. Mindfulness in parenting as a mediator for pBOC and combined cognitive flexibility and resilience .................................................................................................................... 36.
Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 37.
Overview ...............................................................................................................37. Hypothesis 1: MIND_P will be negatively associated with pBOC ..................... 38. Hypothesis 2: MIND_P will be positively related to resilience and resilience building psychological resources ........................................................................................ 38.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING vi Hypothesis 3: MIND_P will mediate the relationship between resilience (and resilience building psychological variables) and pBOC .......................................39.
Mindfulness, mindful parenting practice and mindfulness in parenting ................ 40 Self-efficacy, cognitive flexibility, resilience and behavioural change ................. 42
Implications for clinical intervention and treatment ............................................. 44.
Directions for future research................................................................................ 44.
Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 45.
References ......................................................................................................................... 47.
Appendix A. Participant information statement ............................................................... 60. Appendix B. Survey items - demographics ...................................................................... 62. Appendix C. Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) .............................................................. 66. Appendix D. Mini IPIP .................................................................................................... 70. Appendix E. Cognitive Flexibility Index (CFI) ...............................................................71. Appendix F. Life Orientation Test Revised (LOT-R) .....................................................72. Appendix G. Flourishing Scale (FS)................................................................................ 74. Appendix H. Scale of Positive and Negative Emotions .................................................. 74. Appendix H. Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ) ...................................... 75. Appendix I. Correlation matrix – pre-data transformation .............................................. 77. Appendix J. Tests of normality on criterion and predictor variables ............................... 78.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING vii List of Tables and Figures
Figure 1. Parent/Child Behaviour: Where child behaviour is evidenced as influential to parent behaviour it is reasonable to hypothesise parent behaviour is also influential to child behaviour................................................................................................................................ 7
Figure 2. Possible construct of resilience for parents of children with developmental disorders as developed by Suzuki, indicating that internal factors play some precursor role before adaptation or resilience (Suzuki et al., 2013) ............................................................. 15
Figure 3. Theoretical model for reduced child behaviours through mindful parenting and resilience: Openness predicts resilience through engagement in self-care practices and mindfulness in parenting. Mindfulness in parenting predicts cognitive flexibility, wellbeing and resilience. Optimism predicts openness and feeds back in a self-reinforcing pattern broadening cognitive flexibility and building resilience. Resilient parents are expected to be higher in mindfulness in parenting and cognitive flexibility and to report lower pBOC. ..... 17
Figure 4. Strongest relationships among variables ................................................................ 34
Figure 5. Full mediational model: Mindfulness in parenting fully mediates the relationship between combined cognitive flexibility and resilience and parent perceptions of child engagement in problem behaviours ....................................................................................... 37
Figure 6. PRAC_MIND is strongly associated to PRAC_MP however only a weak association is found for PRAC_MIND and MIND_P. Cognitive Flexibility and Resilience are strongly related and together predict MIND_P. MIND_P predicts pBOC when controlling for optimism, openness, wellbeing and practice frequency. ............................... 40
Figure 7. Associations between P_RES, PRAC_MIND, PRAC_MP and MIND_P ............. 41
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING viii Abstract
Raising a child diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is associated with high parental stress and other risks to the mental health of parents. ‘Mindfulness’ has been supported as a means of generating positive emotions to reduce negative affect. ‘Mindful Parenting’, an aspect of mindfulness first introduced by Kabat-Zinn (2009), is reported to have favorable psychological outcomes specific to parents and children such as reducing parental stress levels, increasing parental wellbeing and reducing child behavioural concerns. Previous research has determined that parents have an impact on the extent of the behavioural symptoms expressed by children diagnosed with ASD, indicating that parental stress can exacerbate child problem behaviours. However, existing research is limited in determining the direction of this relationship, or whether interventions aimed at parental stress reduction might assist in improving problem behaviours of children. This thesis will attempt to fill this research gap by determining whether aspects of parental resilience are associated with a reduction in parental perception of their child’s concerning behaviours. Aspects of individual parental psychological resilience will be examined, including those postulated by Broaden and Build theory such as openness, optimism, wellbeing, flourishing and resilience itself. In addition, parental behaviours which have been linked to mindfulness in parenting will be measured using the new measure Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ) (McCaffrey, Reitman, & Black, 2015). It is hypothesised first that parents who score higher on the mindfulness in parenting measure (MIND_P) will perceive less behaviours of concern (pBOC) in their children diagnosed with ASD. Second, parents who score higher on the mindful parenting measure (MIND_P) will report higher scores on openness, optimism, cognitive flexibility, flourishing, wellbeing and on resilience itself.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING ix Finally, MIND_P is expected to act as a full mediator between parental resilience and lower scores on pBOC. Multiple Linear Regression was used to determine that MIND_P predicts pBOC when controlling for all other associated internal psychological variables, including resilience. Results also indicated that cognitive flexibility and resilience predict MIND_P when controlling for all other internal psychological variables. MIND_P is found to mediate the relationship between pBOC and combined cognitive flexibility and resilience. How underlying factors measured by the MIPQ may impact these results, along with discrepancies in results that show parents reporting practice without it being associated with higher levels of MIND_P or lower pBOC are discussed along with other findings. Future research should include a longitudinal intervention study to confirm the effects of MIND_P and its underlying factors on pBOC. This should include presentation of interventions to parents with differing conditions designed to manipulate external factors relevant to parent stress and internal psychological resources that enable individuals to embark on positive and effective behavioural change within their parent-child relationships.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 1 Questioning mindful parenting as an intervention for parents of children diagnosed with Autism: Evidence for cognitive flexibility and resilience as precursory requirements
Introduction
In 2016, Australian media (Gusmaroli, 2016) reported tragic circumstances leading to the pre-planned, successful murder/suicide of the Davidson family involving the deaths of two young children diagnosed with severe autism and their parents. The tragedy raised widespread community concern over the risks to parental mental health associated with the challenges of raising children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). ASD is a life-long neurological developmental disorder that affects a person's motivation and ability to interact socially and communicate effectively with others. One in sixty-eight American children are diagnosed with ASD annually, with similar prevalence reported in Australia (A4, 2015; Baker & Jeste, 2015). Individuals with ASD are the largest group of participants in the Australian National Disability Insurance Scheme (31%) (NDIA, 2016). Steady growth in the number of people diagnosed with ASD is reflected in Australian Bureau of Statistics data collected in 2009 and 2012 (A4, 2015). The functional effects of living with ASD are felt across the context of the entire family of the person diagnosed with ASD (Bitsika, Sharpley, & Mailli, 2015). Prevalence of Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) has been found to be many times higher for siblings of persons diagnosed with ASD than that of similar aged Australian and US children and adolescents (Bitsika et al., 2015). Further, parents of children with ASD report that specific external sources of additional stress placed on them include: public stigma, and a lack of understanding of their child’s special needs; lower quality family interpersonal relationships between the ASD children and other family members; parental concern over the impact a sibling with ASD may have on their other children; and a general lack of social support for parents of children with
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 2 ASD (Bitsika, Sharpley, & Bell, 2013). Interestingly, researchers are increasingly finding evidence that the greatest indicator of the extent of the behavioural problems of children with ASD may not be the severity of their symptoms, but rather the stress and negative emotions of their parents (Harrison & Sofronoff, 2002; Hastings, 2003; Hastings et al., 2005; Hobson, Tarver, Beurkens, & Hobson, 2016; Sinha, Verma, & Hershe, 2016; Suarez & Baker, 1997; Tomanik, Harris, & Hawkins, 2004). This thesis will explore the relationship between parental stress and behavioural problems of children with ASD. The research will use a measure of parents’ perception of behaviours of concern, so that data can be obtained from parents without the need for clinical observation. This measure will then be correlated against questionnaires that measure variables known to reduce stress in related populations. These variables will include aspects of positive psychology, as built on the Broaden and Build and Post Traumatic Growth theories, including: optimism, wellbeing, flourishing, openness and cognitive flexibility, alongside resilience itself. Of particular interest will be the notion of mindful parenting, a newly postulated intervention to assist parents with stress associated with parenting and to improve the parent-child relationship in general. Finally, variables related to parental engagement in self-care and accessing educational resources related to parenting are included to account for the confounding effects of potential practice or previous experience. It is expected that while mindfulness in parenting will be useful to reducing parental stress, and potentially also have associations with reduced child problem behaviours, other variables will also play important roles within these relationships, indicating more complex therapeutic approaches are required to reduce stress in parents of children with ASD and improve parent-child interactions within this population.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 3 Negative psychological outcomes of raising a child with ASD
Raising a child with ASD is associated with negative psychological outcomes for parents (even when compared to parents of children with different disabilities), including depression, anxiety, having a reduced quality of life and increased stress (A4, 2015; Benn, Akiva, Arel, & Roeser, 2012; Bitsika et al., 2013; Craig et al., 2016; Karst & Van Hecke, 2012). There is a strong association between parental stress and negative emotions in parents and the actual severity of the child’s symptoms (Harrison & Sofronoff, 2002; Hastings, 2003; Hastings et al., 2005; Hobson et al., 2016; Suarez & Baker, 1997; Tomanik et al., 2004), indicating that reduced parental stress has some significant role to play in assisting children diagnosed with ASD. In fact, parental crisis often follows the diagnosis of developmental disorders in children and, regardless of whether parents are eventually able to adapt, most parents still suffer a chronic sense of grief and loss (Suzuki, Kobayashi, Moriyama, Kaga, & Inagaki, 2013).
Stress proliferation
The tendency for stressors in one area of life to propagate further stress in other areas of life (stress proliferation) was investigated by Benson (2006) in a cross-sectional study with a small sample (n = 68) of parents of ASD children. The study found that parental depression was predicted by the severity of child symptoms as well as the level of stress proliferation within their lives. However, higher levels of stress proliferation were found to increase the effects that child symptom severity had on parental depression. Informal social support was found to reduce parental depression as well as stress proliferation in parents (Benson, 2006). Benson and Karlof (2009) followed up with a longitudinal study with a slightly larger sample of parents (n = 90) with consistent findings. Informal support was found to decrease
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 4 depressed mood of parents over time and changing levels of stress proliferation in parents accounted for changing levels of parental depression over and above any parental depression that could be explained by the severity of child symptoms. This research also examined the relationship between anger, stress, and parental wellbeing within this population and found that parental anger levels influenced the effect of child symptoms severity on stress proliferation of parents and depressed mood in parents of children with ASD. The study found that stress proliferation over time led to increased parent anger which, in turn, led to increased parental depression, which led to increased parent anger, concluding that a feedback loop exists between parental anger, stress proliferation and depression within parents of children with ASD.
Research has been limited on the kinds of help that can be given to parents suffering through this grief and stress, however positive psychology has begun to offer new insights. One aspect that has begun to be postulated as a therapy is “Mindful Parenting”, based on the notion that parenting style impacts stress, and relationships (Singh et al., 2006; Singh et al., 2007; Singh et al., 2010) .
Parenting style, self-efficacy, stress and resilience
Parenting style has a significant effect on children and is purported to be a factor in the shaping and growth of stress and resilience. Tavassolie, Dudding, L. Madigan, Thorvardarson, and Winsler (2016) found that authoritarian and permissive styles of parenting were associated with increased child internalizing and externalizing behavior problems. An authoritative parenting style is associated with high resilience while authoritarian and permissive parenting styles are associated with low resilience. Authoritative parents are attuned to their child’s needs (Wyman et al., 1999). The “acceptance-
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 5 involvement” style of parenting is also a positive predictor of resilience (Zakeri, Jowkar, & Razmjoee, 2010). Acceptance-Involvement parenting is based on the perceived amount of attention and response from the parent. Parents using this style are listed as warm, firm, involved and sensitive to the needs of their children as opposed to other styles of parenting that include parents focusing on constant judgement and evaluation of the behaviours and attitudes of their children as well as being desirous of controlling their children. Suzuki et al. (2013) suggest that adaptation of parents following diagnosis may be a result of intervention and treatment of the child’s behavioural problems. However, there is not a lot of evidence to support psychological interventions as promoting well-being in parents of children with intellectual disability (Jones et al., 2017). Further, parent self-efficacy beliefs (how parents perceive their performance capabilities) are strong predictors of positive parenting practices and found to mediate depression, child temperament and social support (Coleman & Karraker, 1998). Bandura (1982) discusses the “self-efficacy mechanism” (SEM) as explaining much of coping behaviour in humans. SEM is influential to cognitive patterns, actions and emotional arousal and higher self-efficacy is associated with higher performance and lower emotional arousal. Parent led intervention, aimed to reduce problematic behaviour in children and increase specific parental knowledge of behavioural function and competencies in behavioural management, is a widely established form of behavioural intervention for children with ASD (Suzuki et al., 2013). It is reported that one of the benefits to parents receiving intervention is increased mental health. It may be that parents adapt to their child rearing problems through parent training interventions. This assumes the parent’s ability to “adapt” is synonymous to developing mental health, both internally, acquiring positive perception and skills through parent training, and externally by gaining access to social support (Suzuki et al., 2013). Wyatt Kaminski, Valle, Filene, and Boyle (2008) found the more successful parent training programs were associated with increasing
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 6 positive parent–child interactions and emotional communication skills, teaching parents the importance of parenting consistency. Less successful programs focused on teaching problem solving skills to parents and how to promote the cognitive, academic, or social skills of their children. Behavioural-based parent interventions, that is, teaching parents how to manage the concerning behaviour of children with ASD, are evidenced to be some of the more effectively stress reducing for parents and appear also to aid parental well-being. These forms of parent intervention have also been evidenced to show a reduction in the child’s behaviours of concern (Whittingham, Sofronoff, Sheffield, & Sanders, 2009) . Arguably these forms of parent interventions assist parents to demystify their children’s behaviour through the identification of function. Once the function of their child’s behaviour becomes less foreign, fear and anxiety in parents may give way to increased self-efficacy and enable parents to more readily accept and understand their children.
Mindfulness in parenting as an intervention to reduce child problem behaviour
There is considerable support within the literature for child-behavioural factors having impact and influence on the wellbeing of parents. Further, certain qualities of parents, such as personality, optimism and coping style are also supported as having influence on parental stress (Galpin et al., 2017). Conversely, Abir K. Bekhet (2016) found that depression and psychological problems within caregivers of persons with ASD impact on the behavior of their children. The study investigated the positive cognitions of caregivers, including positive thinking patterns, and their facility to improve upon the ability of individuals to manage their daily activities and promote mental health. The mediating effects of positive cognitions on the relationship between parental depression and their children’s behaviours of concern were investigated within a population of caregivers of persons with ASD (n=117). Positive thought patterns in parents mediated the relationship between parental depression and their
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 7 children's behaviors of concern. A significant negative relationship has also been reported between maternal well-being and the behavioural problems of children with ASD (Obeid & Daou, 2015). Hudson and Rapee (2001) found a relationship between an overinvolved parenting style and child anxiety in a sample of clinically anxious and oppositional children. Mothers of anxious and oppositional children were found to display more intrusive involvement than mothers of non-clinical children. The mothers of anxious and oppositional children were also observed to be more negative in their interactions with their children than mothers of non-clinical children.
Figure 1. Parent/Child Behaviour: Where child behaviour is evidenced as influential to parent behaviour it is reasonable to hypothesise parent behaviour is also influential to child behaviour
Mindful parenting
Huppert (2017) heralds the benefits of mindful parenting interventions claiming, “the skills and processes they engender are so fundamental, that learning them is likely to magnify
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 8 the benefits of other programs designed to enhance well-being” (p.225). “Mindful Parenting” was first introduced by John and Myla Kabat-Zinn in 1997 (Kabat-Zinn, 2009). Cohen and Semple (2010) called for more studies of mindfulness-based parenting interventions, claiming it to be a promising intervention which may serve to “reduce stress, enhance parental satisfaction, decrease child aggression, and increase children’s prosocial behaviours” (p.145). Mindfulness, when extended into parent-child relationships, is claimed by Siegel and Hartzell (2013) as central to the development of secure attachment and described as a fundamental parenting skill. Mindful parenting is purported to reduce parental reactivity, increase patience and flexibility in parents as well as responsiveness and consistency (Duncan, Coatsworth, & Greenberg, 2009). Mindful parenting is also claimed to enable parents to interrupt automatic cycles of negativity and seek out improved parenting strategies (Dishion, Burraston, & Li, 2003; Dumas, 2005; Duncan et al., 2009). Further, it is claimed that mindful parenting enhances the parent-child relationship through improving trust and wellbeing and decreasing parenting stress (Duncan et al., 2009). Gouveia, Carona, Canavarro, and Moreira (2016) describe mindful parenting as the integration of mindfulness concepts into parental thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, to foster the development of compassion, acceptance, and kindness within the parent-child relationship. The parent’s awareness of him- or herself, parent reactions and experiences, and skills related to staying in the present moment are central to mindful parenting. Once developed, the mindfulness skills of parents are applied within parent-child interactions through relating to, accepting and attending closely to the child.
A model of mindful parenting. Duncan et al. (2009) present a mindful parenting model which “extends the concepts and practices of mindfulness…to the social context of parent-child relationships” (p. 255). Five aspects of mindful parenting are described within
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 9 the model to promote the parent’s awareness of the child’s point of view and to allow the parent to recognise and unconditionally accept the challenges parent and child will confront within their lives together, while also setting healthy boundaries and rules.
An overview of past studies. In a study (n=333) of parents investigating relationships between parenting styles and parental stress, Gouveia et al. (2016) found that parents with higher “dispositional mindfulness” scores were more likely to practise mindful parenting and report lower levels of stress. It is argued that through the adoption of compassionate attitudes toward their children, mindful parents express more warmth and less negativity during interactions with their children (Miller, Kahle, Lopez, & Hastings, 2015), which may in turn have a positive effect on their children’s functioning and well-being. Studies that focus on the parental outcomes of mindful parenting programs, however, are scarce (Townshend, Jordan, Stephenson, & Tsey, 2016). Mindful parenting has been reported to reduce parental stress, improve child behavior and increase parental satisfaction (Bögels, Hellemans, van Deursen, Römer, & van der Meulen, 2014; Coatsworth, Duncan, Greenberg, & Nix, 2010).
A relationship between mindfulness and acceptance processes and reduction of psychological distress in parents of children with ASD is reported by Jones et al. (2017). Following an eight-week intervention, parents participating in the study self-reported significantly increased mindfulness and self-compassion as well as reduced stress. Reduced anxiety and depression were also reported by parents; however, these results were not statistically significant. Further, there were no reported changes found in their children’s prosocial behaviour following the eight-week parent intervention. Chan and Lam (2017) investigated the moderating effect of trait mindfulness on relationships between parental experiences (n = 424) of two forms of stigma (public and courtesy) and levels of anxiety,
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 10 depression and care-giving burden reported by parents. Significant interaction effects were found between trait mindfulness and parental experience of stigma in the prediction of reported levels of depression, anxiety, and caregiving burden. The study highlights the potential protective effects of trait mindfulness for parents of children with ASD.
In a qualitative study investigating the experiences of mothers of children diagnosed with ASD (n = 7) in a mindful parenting program participants reported improvements in parent-child relationships and interactions, and in child behaviors, along with mothers having increased compassion towards themselves as a result of the program (Kennedy, 2017). Further, a preference was expressed by parents in this study for the program to be delivered in a group format. Mothers in the study also reported that a change in perspective on their stressors was responsible for decreasing their stress levels. Results of the study suggest mindful parenting training for parents of children with ASD is a valid parental intervention for use within this population and further research into effects this training has on parents is needed (Kennedy, 2017).
de Bruin, Blom, Smit, van Steensel, and Bögels (2015) studied 23 adolescents with ASD who received 9 weekly sessions of mindfulness training in group format. Their parents also participated in mindful parenting training. The adolescents reported increased quality of life and decreased rumination. Parents reported changes in their children’s social responsiveness communication, preoccupation, cognition and motivation. Parents also reported improvement in their own general wellbeing as well as competence in parenting and increased quality of life. The sample size for this study was small and there was no control group; it may be that increased social interaction in a group setting had benefit on both parent and child groups within this study.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 11 Primary studies on mindful parenting tend to have mixed results, are largely descriptive and have small sample sizes (Townshend, Jordan, Peters, & Tsey, 2014). It is difficult to generalize the results of mindfulness investigations as they are relevant only to individuals who show an interest in mindfulness and who have capacity and ability to participate in programs and to practice effectively. Mindfulness studies are not doubleblinded and show bias due to the self-selection methods of the populations recruited into studies. Publication bias also must be a consideration in mindfulness studies, due to the likelihood of only positive results of interventions being reported (Townshend et al., 2014). In other words, parents who practice mindful parenting might be very different types of people to begin with: something else may be drawing them to mindfulness or influencing their social interactions with their children, they may be already high in factors associated with mindful parenting, or they may be more open to, or capable of implementing the practice in their daily lives. Just how these parents might differ from others might be determined by looking at the connections between mindfulness, resilience and originating positive psychology theories of Broaden and Build and Post Traumatic Growth (PTD).
Measuring mindfulness in parenting. Questions must also be raised regarding the measurement and quantification of mindfulness in parenting in past studies. Past studies have relied for the most part on the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting scale (IEM-P) (Duncan, 2007), a self-report measure of mindful parenting. Reported reliability and validity for this scale is questionable (de Bruin et al., 2014; McCaffrey et al., 2015). There is also a lack of evidence for mindful parenting that is based on direct evaluation of the construct as a social interaction within the parent-child relationship (McCaffery, 2015). Most previous studies appear to assess the mindfulness of parents rather than mindfulness in parenting as a tangible behavioural measurement or even automatic feature of the parent’s attitudes within the
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 12 parent-child relationship. McCaffery (2015) argues that claims regarding the associations between mindful parenting and child functioning cannot be supported without a suitable measure that assesses the more tangible outcomes (consequences) of mindful parenting behaviours within the parent-child dyad. In other words, what does it really mean, or look like, when parents are actually being mindful in their parenting style? McCaffery (2015) offers the new Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire as solution to this dilemma.
‘Broaden and Build’, Post Traumatic Growth (PTG) and the idea that positive emotions build psychological resources
Fredrickson’s “Broaden and Build” (1998) theory claims the importance of positive emotions in the development of resilience (Fredrickson, Tugade, Waugh, & Larkin, 2003). Theoretically, positive emotions are thought to function to ‘broaden’ the cognitive and behavioral scope of individuals (Bitsika et al., 2013), which in turn increases the range of options for mind and body to take when processing emotion, including stress. Therefore, over time, positive emotional states serve to ‘broaden’ cognitive flexibility which in turn ‘builds’ useful resilience-associated resources within individuals (Fredrickson, 2003).
Other researchers have used positive psychology to propose the notion of growing through trauma, a concept knowns as PTG. Tedeschi and Calhoun (2004) explain PTG as growth that follows a tragic or extremely stressful life event. The PTG paradigm purports that, while there are negative consequences to individuals following crisis, individuals are also capable of significant positive change and development beyond pre-crisis levels. A serious event can set PTG in motion when it challenges an individual’s belief systems relevant to self, safety and the predictability of their environment and their future. PTG relies on internal reflection aimed at extracting some positive considerations following a traumatic
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 13 event and developing some meaning and purpose that makes the experience of the event for the individual or group involved one of growth.
Strecker, Hazelwood, and Shakespeare-Finch (2014) investigated whether parents of children with intellectual disabilities experienced PTG through challenges faced in their daily parenting lives and found evidence that distress and growth exist independently of one another. The study highlights that easing post-traumatic distress will not necessarily result in increasing post-traumatic growth; rather one’s focus is better placed on any potential for positive transformation undertaken by parents, despite their experience and expression of distress. In considering factors contributing to family resilience Walsh (2003) lists particular qualities within a family organisation as essential, such as flexibility, connectedness, communications and ability to utilise available resources, a finding that appears to support Broaden and Build, as it references increasing psychological resources.
Wellbeing and resilience
However, stressed parents may also be less resilient parents. Being ‘resilient’ refers generally to one’s ability to overcome adversity - to survive, thrive, and grow in strength, flexibility and adaptability (Gillespie, Chaboyer, & Wallis, 2007; Van Breda, 2001). Resilience is not just concerned with one’s ability to ‘recover’ from a traumatic experience. Rather, resilience is the pathway to recovery that is taken after experiencing trauma. It is resilience that helps individuals to both overcome these experiences and to positively grow life satisfaction out of such experiences (Bitsika et al., 2013). Resilience involves negative experiences, and hence negative emotions, so it has more in common with PTG than Broaden and Build, however there is little doubt that those who have more psychological resources are more able to ‘bounce back’. In this sense, positive emotions and the habit of having them in
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 14 good times generate resources for the bad (or crisis) times. In other words, positive emotions may be a precursor to resilience, but resilience is the act of adaptation after crisis.
This means that positive thinking, psychological wellbeing and optimism are protective factors for parents facing adversity (Zauszniewski, Bekhet, & Suresky, 2009). For parents raising children with disability and intellectual disorders such as ASD, resilience is defined by Suzuki et al. (2013) as “the process of positive adaptation to the difficulties of rearing children with developmental disorders and consists of internal (e.g., positive perception, skill, coping style, and efficacy) and external (e.g., social support) factors” (p.105) (see Figure 2.). In a study of 108 parents of children with ASD, Bitsika et al. (2013) also found support for resilience as a consistently effective buffer against parents of children with ASD developing anxiety and depression. The study also notes that resilience is associated with social supports for parents and the mere increase of social supports to parents may lead to parental resilience as a “flow-on-effect”.
Scorgie and Sobsey (2000) discuss the life-changing experiences of parents of children with disabilities as “transformational outcomes”. Parents in the study reported stronger relationships and healthy family friendship networks due to having children with disability. Support is found for Scorgie and Sobsey (2000) in Bayat (2007) where evidence of specific resilience building processes, such as positive meaning making, seeking out and accessing resource mobilization, close family connections, finding general life satisfaction and gaining spiritual strength were found to occur within resilient families. Bayat (2007) further found evidence that families displaying such processes had increased in resilience since having a child diagnosed with ASD within the family. Further supporting this, Bitsika et al. (2015) found a negative relationship between the psychological resilience scores of siblings of children with ASD and GAD, and specific resilience skills of siblings were
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 15 associated with significantly lower GAD scores. There is also evidence that parents of persons with ASD who engage in positive thinking report higher levels of psychological wellbeing (Abir K. Bekhet, 2014; Abir K Bekhet, Johnson, & Zauszniewski, 2012). Zauszniewski et al. (2009) found evidence of resilience increasing over time in caregivers of persons with psychosocial disorders. Abir K Bekhet et al. (2012) reports parents of children with ASD who have higher resilience indicators are more likely to cope with adversity. Further, Abir K. Bekhet (2016) supports positive thinking as a mediator for depression in caregivers of children with ASD.
Figure 2. Possible construct of resilience for parents of children with developmental disorders as developed by Suzuki, indicating that internal factors play some precursor role before adaptation or resilience (Suzuki et al., 2013)
Social support, wellbeing and resilience
Previous research has also found the relationship between support persons of parents of children with ASD is not as influential to parental wellbeing as the degree of understanding support persons have regarding the behaviour and challenges of their children with ASD. It is particularly important for parents that their support persons understand the reasons behind (functions) of the behaviour exhibited by their child. Misunderstandings arising within extended family around the child’s behaviour have been linked to feelings of guilt, inadequacy and increased stress for parents (Bitsika et al., 2013). Equipping parents to
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 16 educate support persons within their own environment to better understand behavioural needs of their children may in turn assist development of parental wellbeing and satisfaction. Bitsika et al. (2013) highlight the need for further development of resilience in parents through training and counselling and state that further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of parent training courses focusing on building resilience in parents of children with ASD.
‘Broaden and Build’: Cognitive flexibility and resilience through mindfulness
Garland et al. (2010) examined thought processes and emotional mechanisms that underpin affect regulation disorders in the context of ‘Broaden and Build’ and found that practicing ‘mindfulness’ has the effect of generating positive emotions which can in turn mitigate negative affective processes. According to the study, positive emotions broaden cognitive and behavioral range and build resources to improve the coping and mental health of individuals. Townshend et al. (2014) describe mindfulness as the ability to attend to the present moment: a process that focuses on cognitive clarity and flexibility. Mindfulness is popular as an intervention within healthcare, unemployment, the criminal justice system and education, and studies over 30 years support mindfulness-based intervention as having positive outcomes for parental mental health, stress and the parent-child relationship (Townshend et al., 2014). Therefore, the following relationships can be postulated: Internal parental psychological factors of more positive experiences and affect, and psychological wellbeing, optimism, openness and cognitive flexibility, may be a precursory requirement for the capacity to practice mindful parenting, whereas mindful parenting itself may have a more direct relationship to resilience and a perceived reduction in ASD behaviours in children (see Figure 3.).
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 17
Reduced pBOC
Figure 3. Theoretical model for reduced child behaviours through mindful parenting and resilience: Openness predicts resilience through engagement in self-care practices and mindfulness in parenting. mindfulness in parenting predicts cognitive flexibility, wellbeing and resilience. Optimism predicts openness and feeds back in a self-reinforcing pattern broadening cognitive flexibility and building resilience. Resilient parents are expected to be higher in mindfulness in parenting and cognitive flexibility and to report lower pBOC.
It is also arguable that parents who engage more frequently in self-care practice of any kind naturally have certain internal or external resources at their disposal, or come to develop higher levels of resources that drive problem solving and help seeking behaviour that fosters a greater willingness to seek out and experiment with a variety of support strategies.
Aim and hypotheses
This study specifically investigates the relationship between mindfulness in parenting and parents’ perception of behaviours of concern exhibited by their children, with particular emphasis on the notion that mindful parents might score differently on related psychological variables, as explored above. It is hypothesised that:
1.
Parents who score higher on the mindfulness in parenting measure (MIND_P) will perceive less behaviours of concern (pBOC) in their children diagnosed with ASD.
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 18 2.
Parents who score higher on the mindful parenting measure (MIND_P) will also show higher scores on openness (P_OPEN), optimism (P_OPT), cognitive flexibility (P_CFLEX), flourishing (P_FLOUR), wellbeing (SPANE_B) and resilience (P_RES).
3.
Mindful parenting will act as a full mediator between internal psychological variables of openness, optimism, cognitive flexibility, flourishing, wellbeing and resilience, and lower scores on pBOC
Method
Participants
Participants were 96 parents of children diagnosed with ASD (8 males, 88 females) who responded to requests to complete an electronic survey, with links to the survey posted on Facebook groups for parents of children with Autism, and sent out to email lists via special schools and other autism support groups and therapeutic client lists. 75% of parents reported they were from a Caucasian background and were well educated, 73% reporting completion of either TAFE/undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications. A majority reported they were participating within the workforce (8.3% reporting casual employment) and 34% of parents reported unemployment. 22% of parents reported that they had been diagnosed previously with mental illness and 5% with physical disability or chronic illness. (See, Table 1. Participant descriptive statistics).
Procedure
Parents who gave consent to participate in the survey and responded “Yes” to the question “I undertake a direct parent or primary care giving role for at least one child
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 19 diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder” were progressed through to survey completion. Parents were asked to report their perceived frequency of their child’s behaviours of concern (pBOC), measured on a 6-point scale (My child engages in behaviours of concern: 1. Never, 2. Rarely, 3. Less than 10 times a week, 4. Greater than 10 times a week, 5. Less than 10 times a day, 6. Greater than 10 times a day).
Parents were also asked how frequently they engage in self-care practices (attend parent groups, read self-help books, take part in physical exercise, online chat forums, post on social media, volunteer in the community or other) on a scale of 1 to 4 (never, rarely, sometimes, regularly). Further, parents were asked how often they practiced mindfulness and how often they engaged in mindful parenting practice with their children (see, Appendix B.). Finally, parents completed valid and reliable measurement scales of resilience, psychological wellbeing, cognitive flexibility, optimism, openness and mindfulness in parenting (see, Appendix C. through I.), as specified below.
Materials
Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA). The RSA is a 33 item self-report scale for measuring protective resilience factors among adults (Friborg, Barlaug, Martinussen, Rosenvinge, & Hjemdal, 2005; Friborg, Hjemdal, Rosenvinge, & Martinussen, 2003). The scale uses a seven-point scale where each item has either positive or negative attributes. Half of the scale items are reverse scored to mitigate acquiescence-bias. High scores on the scale indicate higher protective resilience factors exist within the individual. The scale has a sixfactor structure: 1) Perception of self (α = .74), 2) Planned future (α = .73), 3) Social competence (α = .83), 4) Structured style (α = .80), 5) Family cohesion (α = .80), and 6) Social resources (α = .74) (see, Appendix C. Resilience Scale for Adults). Cronbach's alpha
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 20 coefficients reported by Wagnild (2009) ranged from .72 to .94, supporting the internal consistency reliability of the RSA.
Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE). Happiness is considered to be the outcome when there is balance between positive and negative feelings (Diener et al., 2010). According to Watson and Tellegen (1985) the dichotomous dimensions of affect— positive and negative—account for most of the variance in self-rated affect and account for up to 75% of the common variance in mood. The SPANE measure consists of items on a five-point scale from 1 (very rarely or never) to 5 (very often or always) (see, Appendix H). It has two six-item subscales that assess the positive and negative experiences of individuals over the previous 4 weeks. Given the independence of the two factors, positive and negative scales are scored separately. The summed (SPANE-P) score and the negative (SPANE-N) scores range from 6 to 30. The two scores can then be combined by subtracting the negative score from the positive, to result in the balance of positive and negative feelings (SPANE-B) score with a range from −24 to 24. SPANE is supported as a sufficiently reliable and valid measure of subjective feelings of well-being. The internal consistencies for the overall scale (SPANE-B) and the SPANE-P and SPANE-N subscales are reported above .70 and .80. (F. Li, Bai, & Wang, 2013)
Flourishing Scale (FS). The scale is composed of eight items (see, Appendix G.) and reported Cronbach’s α is >0.80 (Diener et al., 2010). Diener (2010) also reports the Flourishing Scale correlates at high levels with other well-being measures including the Basic Needs Satisfaction Scale, Ryff scales of Psychological Well-being, and Satisfaction with Life scale. The scale’s items measure aspects of life that range from having positive relationships, to feeling competent, and having a life that has meaning and purpose. The scale name was changed from ‘Psychological Wellbeing’ to better reflect scale content that includes content
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 21 outside of the operational definition of psychological well-being. Items on the FS are answered on a scale of 1–7 ranging from Strong Disagreement to Strong Agreement. All items are phrased in a positive direction. Scores range from 8 (Strong Disagreement with all items) to 56 (Strong Agreement with all items). High scores indicate that participants see themselves in positive terms in key areas of human functioning. The scale does not measure separate facets of well-being, however it provides an overview of positive functioning across varied domains.
Cognitive Flexibility Index (CFI). The CFI was developed as a brief self-report measure for repeated administration in research or therapeutic intervention to monitor fluctuations in cognitive flexibility for individuals undergoing cognitive behavioral interventions (see, Appendix E.). The CFI is designed to measure functional features of cognitive flexibility such as adaptive thinking vs maladaptive, when under stress. Three aspects of cognitive flexibility are considered necessary for this: to be more likely to see difficult situations as controllable, to be able to generate multiple alternative explanations for events, circumstances and behavior; and to be able to generate multiple alternative problemsolving ideas when faced with challenges and barriers. It is considered that individuals who possess these attributes have the capability to react adaptively if faced with challenging life situations. Individuals who lack these attributes are considered as more susceptible to mental health issues when facing difficult life circumstances. Cronbach’s alpha is reported as ranging between .84 and .90 (Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010).
Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R). The Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOTR) consists of 10 items that assess dispositional optimism. Three items measure optimism, three measure pessimism and four items are fillers (see, Appendix F.). The items are answered on a 5-point scale with a range from 0 (Strongly disagree) to 4 (Strongly agree). A
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 22 total score is obtained to give a measure of optimism (Diener et al., 2010). Cronbach’s alpha coefficients of reliability are reported as 0.70 (optimism), 0.74 (pessimism), and 0.68 (total score).
Mini-IPIP. This measure is a 20-item measure, with four items per Big Five scale, that was developed to produce efficient measurement of personality traits in order to provide meaningful results in research (see. Appendix D.). The publicly available 50-item IPIP-FFM, used frequently in personality research, has been shortened and made available on the IPIP website at no cost to researchers (Donnellan, Oswald, Baird, & Lucas, 2006). For each Big Five scale, 2 items are keyed in a negative direction and 2 items positive. Z. Li, Sang, Wang, and Shi (2012) report Cronbach's alphas ranging from .79 to .84.
Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ). McCaffrey et al. (2015) aimed to maximise efficiency of mindful parenting interventions through the development of a psychometrically sound measure of mindfulness in parenting. This was needed to better interpret results of mindful parenting intervention studies aimed at answering research questions such whether or not the intervention increases mindful parenting as a behavioural outcome, and/or whether or not mindful parenting is causal to treatment effects. McCaffrey et al. (2015) offer a construct of mindful parenting, as measured by the Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ), that is: “distinct but positively related to intrapersonal mindfulness and meditation experience; positively related to the authoritative parenting style; negatively related to permissive and authoritarian parenting styles; negatively related to both laxness and over-reactivity in parents’ discipline practices; unrelated to parents’ socioeconomic status and ethnicity” (pp. 60-61) (see, Appendix I.). A two-factor measure of mindful parenting resulted: ‘Parental Self-Efficacy’, reflecting nonreactivity in parenting, awareness and goal-focused parenting and ‘Being in the Moment with the Child’, representing
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 23 child-focused parenting, including present-centered attention, empathic understanding of the child and acceptance. These factors aligned with factors suggested from other research and incorporate dimensions of mindfulness in parenting outlined in the model presented by Duncan et al. (2009). Reliability analysis is reported by McCaffrey et al. (2015) for the two factors of the MIPQ. Parental Self-Efficacy (Factor 1) shows evidence of an acceptable item fit. The factor is reported as unidimensional with a person separation of 2.29 and a reliability of .84. Reported item separation was 4.90 and reliability .96, supporting the factor’s construct validity. Being in the Moment with the Child (Factor 2) is also reported to be unidimensional and produced a person separation of 2.13 and a person reliability of .82. This suggests that both factors within the MIPQ are sensitive enough to discriminate between parents high and low in mindful parenting. Reported item separation (2.90) and item reliability (.89) for Factor 2 were slightly below the standard “cut off”, suggesting that the sample used was not large enough to confirm the item difficulty hierarchy. Caution is advised when interpreting item hierarchy for this factor. Smailytė (2017) reports a Cronbach’s alpha of .91 for a Lithuanian translation of the MIPQ. Table 1. Participant Demographics Predictor Variables Sex
Abbreviation SEX
Age Number of Children with ASD Number of children living at home Number of children diagnosed with chronic illness or other disability I have been diagnosed with a mental illness / psychosocial disability I have been diagnosed with a serious physical illness or disability I have attended parenting classes in the past
Mean
SD
AGE N_ASD
Levels/Range 1.Male 2.Female 24 – 83 1-3
N 8 90
% 8 92
39.85 1.18
9.09 0.54
N_CHILD
0-4
2.18
1.10
N_CHILD_Oth
0-3
0.31
.68
MHDIAG
1.Yes 2.No
22 76
22 78
SPIDIAG
1.Yes 2.No
5 93
5 95
P_CLASSES
1.Yes 2.No
39 59
40 60
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 24 I understand what "Mindful Parenting" practice is
U_MIND
1.Yes 2.No
44 54
45 55
I have attended mindfulness classes in the past
MIND_CLASS
My ethnic background is
ETHNICITY
I am employed
EMPLOY
1.Yes 2.No 1.ATSI 2.Caucasian 3.Pacific Islands 4.Latino 5.Asian 6.European 1.Full Time 2.Part Time 3.Casual 4.Unemployed
28 70 2 73 0 1 6 16 25 31 9 33
29 71 2 75 0 1 6 16 25 32 9 34
I competed the following formal education:
EDUCATION
1.High School Y10 2.High School Y12 3.TAFE 4.Undergraduate 5.Postgraduate 6.Did not complete High School
8 15 26 27 19
8 15 27 28 19
3
3
Results
Missing Value Analysis (MVA) was carried out on data using SPSS software version 24 and a non-significant Little’s MCAR result was obtained indicating that any missing data is completely at random. Expectations Maximisation (EM) was carried out to complete missing data.
One-way ANOVA
One-way ANOVA statistical analyses was conducted on categorical predictor variables to test for mean differences between groups of parents based on their completed level of formal education, ethnic background and employment status. No significant differences were found between parent groups for pBOC or P_MIND. Significant differences were found between employment status groups of parents for P_RES F (3, 94) = 3.62, p < .05 (two-tailed). Mean differences were found for parents who work full time (M = 44.36, SD = 6.22) part-time, (M = 44.58, SD = 4.86), casual (M = 42.44, SD = 8.43) and
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 25 those who were unemployed (M = 39.94, SD = 6.90). However, comparisons indicated that the unemployed parents group mean was significantly lower on self-reported resilience (PRES) when compared to all employed parent groups, t(96) = -3.01, p < .05 (two-tailed), r = .09 (weak effect). There were no differences in P_RES means between groups for fulltime part time or casual employment. No significant differences were found between ethnicities of parents for P_RES or between formal education completed groups.
Independent samples T-Tests
Independent samples T-tests were conducted on dichotomous categorical variables and pBOC, P_MIND and P_RES to determine any differences between groups for: sex; parents who have been diagnosed with mental illness or serious chronic physical illnesses; if parents reported an understanding of “mindful parenting practice”; or if they had attended mindfulness classes in the past. Significant differences were found between group means for pBOC between parents who reported having had attended parenting classes (n = 39, M = 4.54, SD = 1.29) and those who had not attended parenting classes (n = 59, M = 3.97, SD = 1.35), (MD = .57, SED = .27, t (96) = 2.086, p < .05 (two-tailed), bootstrapped 95% CI [.084, 1.07]. No significant differences between group means for P_MIND for parents having been diagnosed with mental or chronic physical illness, or whether parents had attended either parenting classes or mindfulness classes in the past or not.
Significant differences were found for P_MIND between males (n = 8, M = 94.25, SD = 18.20) and females (n = 90, M = 106.95, SD = 15.10), (MD = -12.70, SED = 5.66), t (96) = -2.24, p < .05 (two tailed), bootstrapped 95% CI [-24.99, 1.10] and between parents who reported they understand the concept of “mindful parenting practice” (n = 44, M = 111.20, SD = 14.68), (MD = 9.60, SED = 3.04), t (96) = 3.16, p < .01 (two tailed), bootstrapped 95%
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 26 CI [3.77, 15.42]. There were no significant sex differences found between group means for P_RES for parents who reported understanding “mindful parenting practice”, or whether parents had attended either parenting classes or mindfulness classes in the past. However, significant differences between group means were found for P_RES between parents who had been diagnosed with mental illness (n – 22, M = 38.95, SD = 6.51) (M= -4.91, SED = 1.51), t (96) = -3.25, p < .01 (two tailed), bootstrapped 95% CI [-7.95,1.93] and between parents who have been diagnosed with chronic physical illness, (n = 5, M = 36.4, SD = 5.37),(MD = 6.71, SED = 2.94), t (96) = -2.270, p < .001 (two tailed), bootstrapped 95% CI [-12.70, 3.06].
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 27 Table 2 Descriptive Statistics for scale predictor variables
Criterion
Predictor
Parent’s reported perception of child’s frequency of behaviours of concern Mindfulness in Parenting Parental Resilience Psychological Wellbeing of Parents Flourishing Affect Balance Parental Cognitive Flexibility Parental Openness Parental Optimism Parental engagement in Self Care
Abbreviation
Real range 2-6
Mean
SD
pBOC
Possible range 1-6
4.17
1.35
P_MIND
27-135
80 – 134
106.6
15.4
P_RES
26 – 52
27 - 52
42.85
6.58
P_FLOUR SPANE_B
8 – 56 -24 – 24
8 – 43 -20 – 20
43.51 6.42
8.92 7.82
77 - 133
104
15.1
P_COGFLEX
20 – 140
P_OPEN
7 – 32
8 – 28
19.86
5.02
P_OPT
6 - 30
6 - 30
17.35
5.52
SC_GEN
8 – 32
8 – 30
18.80
4.65
Reliability of measurement scales
To confirm reliability of the chosen scale measurements utilised within the study, reliability analyses were carried out on data collected by all psychometric instruments (See, Table 3. Reliability Analysis for psychometric instruments). To test assumptions for data analyses using Multiple Linear Regression (MLR), tests of normality were carried out on numeric predictor and criterion variables (See, Appendix J. Normality tests for numeric variables).
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 28 Table 3 Reliability Analysis for psychometric instruments
Construct Resilience
Trait Openness
Scale
Subscale
Resilience Scale for Adults (RSA) Mini IPIP-16
26
Psychological Wellbeing
Mean
SD
Cronbach’s a
42.76
6.55
.904
4 3 6
19.80
5.02
17.16
5.86
.781 .793d .844
6 7 6 8
20.57 34.69
4.72 9.40
16 Openness
Optimism
No of Items
Life Orientation Test (LOT-10) Scale of Positive and Negative Effect (SPANE) SPANE-P SPANE-N
Flourishing 45.58 Scale Cognitive Cognitive 20 103.65 Flexibility Flexibility Inventory (CFI) Mindfulness Mindfulness in 27 105.91 in Parenting Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ) a. subscale SC item 14 removed from analysis ‘To be flexible in social settings’ b. subscale SS all items removed from analysis c. subscale Conscientiousness item 10 removed ‘I like order’ d. Item 9 removed ‘I rarely count on good things happening to me’ e. removed item ‘sad’
9.10
.901 .776 .815e .914
15.28
.909
15.67
.921
Bivariate correlations
Bivariate correlations were carried out to assess relationships among criterion and predictor variables, and to assess the assumption of multicollinearity among criterion and predictor variables prior to regression analyses. Assumptions were met. (see, Table 4. – Correlation matrix, post data transformation). The strongest relationships among variables are depicted in Figure 4.
Associations with parent perceptions of child behaviours of concern (pBOC). A significant positive weak association was found between pBOC and the reported number of children living at home (r = .184, p < .05) and a significant negative weak association for
COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND RESILIENCE: PRECURSORS TO MINDFULNESS IN PARENTING 29 pBOC and SPANE_B (r = -.290, p
