RESUMEN
Abstract The Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting (IM-P) scale is one of the first measures that specifically assesses mindful parenting, a specific application of mindfulness, that has been defined as paying attention to your child and parenting in a particular way, intentionally, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. Psychometric properties of a Spanish-language version of the IM-P scale were examined in a sample of 111 mothers of preschool-age children living in Santiago, Chile. The original IM-P model with five factors and 31 items showed indicators of goodness of fit within acceptable ranges, however two items presented extremely low factor loadings that suggest a lack of fit to the model. Also, there was a high correlation between two factors which were theoretical and conceptually very related: Compassion for the self and child and Non-judgmental Acceptance of the self and child. Therefore, it was considered appropriate to test a new four-factor model in which these two factors were merged into one, and items loading low in the previous model were eliminated. This new model showed a slightly better fit than the five-factor model. The resultant four-factor version and its subscales showed good internal consistencies. Construct validity of the IM-P scale was investigated by calculating correlations with general mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, FFMQ). As expected, a significant positive correlation was found between the two measures (r=0.73, p<0.01), and among almost all subscales. In general, the results present sound psychometric properties of the Spanish translation of the IM-P in Chilean mothers of preschool children.
Resumen Las propiedades psicométricas de la versión en español de la escala de Atención Plena (Mindfulness) Interpersonal en la Parentalidad (IM-P) fueron examinadas en una muestra de 111 madres de niños y niñas de edad preescolar en Santiago de Chile. La estructura de cinco factores de la escala IM-P original no fue completamente respaldada mediante análisis factorial confirmatorio. Por lo tanto, se testeó una estructura de cuatro factores. Dos de los factores encontrados fueron coherentes con aquellos originalmente hipotetizados. Los otros consistieron en una re-agrupación de items de las subescalas Consciencia Emocional de si misma y del hijo(a), Aceptación sin juicio de si misma y del hijo(a) y Compasión hacia si misma y hacia su hijo(a), en dos factores: uno que da cuenta de compasión y no-juicio de la madre hacia si misma y, el otro que da cuenta de la compasión, no-juicio y consciencia emocional de la madre hacia su hijio. La versión resultante de cuatro factores y sus sub-escalas presentaron buena consistencia interna. Se analizó la validez de constructo mediante cálculo de correlaciones con mindfulness general (Cuestionario de cinco dimensiones de Mindfulness, FFMQ). Como se esperaba, se encontró una correlación positiva significativa entre las dos medidas (r=0.71, p<0.01), y entre la mayor parte de las subescalas. En general, los resultados dan cuenta de buenas propiedades psicométricas de la versión en español de la escala IM-P en madres de niños y niñas preescolares en Chile.
RESUMEN
Objectives: Research interest in mindfulness, the capacity for present-oriented, nonjudgmental attention and awareness, and its relation to parenting has been growing in recent years. However, factors facilitating the association between mindfulness and parenting are not yet well understood. In the present study, we examined whether parents' biased causal thinking about children's misbehaviors, i.e., parental attributions, may mediate the link between parents' dispositional mindfulness and parenting. Given that parents of children with clinically elevated mental health difficulties tend to report more biased parental attributions, we further examined whether the proposed mediation may differ across parents of children with and without clinical diagnoses or referrals for mental health difficulties. Methods: Parents (59.8% mothers) of 8- to 12-year-old children with (n = 157) and without (n = 99) clinical diagnoses or referrals for mental health difficulties participated in online surveys assessing their mindfulness, parental attributions, and negative parenting behaviors. Results: More mindful parents reported less negative parenting, with the link significantly mediated by less biased parent-directed attributions, but not child-directed attributions. The mediating effect via parent-directed attributions was significantly moderated by the child's clinical status: the effect was retained only for parents of children with clinical diagnoses or referrals for mental health difficulties. No significant moderation effect emerged for child-directed attributions. Conclusions: The results provide initial support for the links among parents' mindfulness, parental attributions, and parenting. The present findings suggest that parental mindfulness may be important for less biased parental attributions, with implications for parenting behaviors at least in the context of children's mental health disorders.
