Psychopathology and Mindful Parenting in Parents of Preschool and School-Aged Children: The Role of Supportive Coparenting

Abstract

The present study aimed to explore the mediating role of supportive coparenting in the relationship between parental psychopathology symptoms and mindful parenting and to explore whether the child’s age group moderates the associations in the model. A sample of 462 parents (94.2% mothers) of preschool and school-aged children completed the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Parental Perceptions of Coparenting Questionnaire, and the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale. A moderated mediation model was estimated to analyze the indirect effect of psychopathology symptoms on mindful parenting through supportive coparenting and the moderating role of the child’s age group. Higher levels of parental psychopathology were found to be associated both directly and indirectly (through lower levels of supportive coparenting) with lower levels of mindful parenting, regardless of the child’s age group. The results suggest that supportive coparenting is a relevant explanatory mechanism for the relationship between parental psychopathology and mindful parenting.