The Effectiveness of Mindful Parenting Training on Improvement of Experiential Avoidance, Self-Compassion and Mindfulness in Stressed Mothers with Preschooler Child

The purpose of this study was investigating the effectiveness of mindful parenting training on improvement of experiential avoidance, self-compassion and mindfulness in stressed mothers with preschooler child. The design of the present study is experimental with pre-test, post-test and follow-up with sham group. Participants of 40 mothers with preschool children who were randomly divided into experimental and sham groups. The experimental group received 8 sessions of 2-hour mindful parenting educational intervention and the sham group received 8 sessions of 2-hour English language training. For measuring experiential avoidance, self-compassion, mindfulness, in order Acceptance, Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II), Self-Compassion Scale- short form (SCS-SF), and Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) were used. Questionnaires were used in 3 phases including pre-test, post-test and two month-follow-up. Statistical analysis of data based on repeated measures analysis of variance and covariance The findings showed that the mean scores on the experimental avoidance, self-compassion and mindfulness variables in the experimental group at the post-test and follow-up phase were significantlyhigher than the intervention group(p <0.01). The results of this study indicate that mindful parenting training is effective on improving the experience avoidance and promoting self-compassion and mindfulness of mothers with preschool children.