Mindful Parenting and Problem-Solving Intervention for Families with Experienced Life Adversity

Families who have experienced life adversity may be at increased risk for poor coping and maladjustment. Given the breadth of research documenting the efficacy of mindfulness-informed interventions, integrating mindfulness strategies with problem-solving skills may be a promising approach to enhance coping among adversity-exposed families. Building from a previous pilot trial of a mindfulness-informed intervention for families involved with child welfare, this study examined the efficacy of the Mindful Parenting and Problem-Solving (MPPS) intervention on multiple domains of parental coping among families with experienced life adversity.

A sample of 26 parents were randomized into the MPPS intervention (n = 14) or wait-list control (n = 12) conditions. Participants completed self-report questionnaires that measured mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire), cognitive-emotion regulation (Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire-Short Form), and problem-solving (Social Problem-Solving Inventory-Revised) before and after the completion of the intervention. Intention-to-treat (ITT) analyses were conducted on the entire randomized sample and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted on the per-protocol sample (n = 23).

The ITT analyses indicated that participants in the intervention condition reported significant improvements in positive refocus coping (p < 0.01), negative problem orientation (p < 0.05), and social problem-solving (p < 0.05) compared to control condition participants. Changes in positive refocus coping (p < 0.05, η_p² = 0.28) and negative problem orientation (p < 0.05, η_p² = 0.16) were maintained in the per-protocol sample. No significant differences in mindfulness were found between participants in the intervention and control conditions on the entire randomized or the per-protocol sample.

Preliminary findings indicate that the MPPS intervention may support enhanced coping skills for families with experienced life adversity.

This study is not preregistered.