Understanding How Mindful Parenting May Be Linked to Mother–Adolescent Communication

Researchers have sought to understand the processes that may promote effective parent-adolescent communication because of the strong links to adolescent adjustment. Mindfulness, a relatively new construct in Western psychology that derives from ancient Eastern traditions, has been shown to facilitate communication and to be beneficial when applied in the parenting context. In this article, we tested if and how mindful parenting was linked to routine adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation within a longitudinal sample of rural and suburban, early adolescents and their mothers (n = 432; mean adolescent age = 12.14, 46% male, 72% Caucasian). We found that three factors -- negative parental reactions to disclosure, adolescent feelings of parental over-control, and the affective quality of the parent-adolescent relationship -- mediated the association between mindful parenting and adolescent disclosure and parental solicitation. Results suggest that mindful parenting may improve mother-adolescent communication by reducing parental negative reactions to information, adolescent perceptions of over-control, and by improving the affective quality of the parent-adolescent relationship. The discussion highlights intervention implications and future directions for research

Familias Unidas: The efficacy of an intervention to promote parental investment in Hispanic immigrant families

This paper reports a test of the efficacy of Familias Unidas, a Hispanic-specific, ecologically focused, parent-centered preventive intervention, in promoting protection against and reducing risk for adolescent behavior problems. Specifically, the intervention was designed to foster parental investment, reduce adolescent behavior problems, and promote adolescent school bonding/academic achievement, all protective factors against drug abuse and delinquency. One-hundred sixty seven Hispanic families of 6th and 7th grade students from three South Florida public schools were stratified by grade within school and randomly assigned to intervention and no-intervention control conditions. Results indicated that Familias Unidas was efficacious in increasing parental investment and decreasing adolescent behavior problems, but that it did not significantly impact adolescent school bonding/academic achievement. Summer-vacation rates of adolescent behavior problems were six times higher in the control condition than in the intervention condition. Furthermore, change in parental investment during the intervention was predictive of subsequent levels of adolescent behavior problems. The findings suggest that Familias Unidas is efficacious in promoting protection and reducing risk for adolescent problem behaviors in poor immigrant Hispanic families

A Model of Mindful Parenting: Implications for Parent–Child Relationships and Prevention Research

This paper introduces a model of “mindful parenting” as a framework whereby parents intentionally bring moment-to-moment awareness to the parent–child relationship. This is done by developing the qualities of listening with full attention when interacting with their children, cultivating emotional awareness and self-regulation in parenting, and bringing compassion and nonjudgmental acceptance to their parenting interactions. First, we briefly outline the theoretical and empirical literature on mindfulness and mindfulness-based interventions. Next, we present an operational definition of mindful parenting as an extension of mindfulness to the social context of parent–child relationships. We discuss the implications of mindful parenting for the quality of parent–child relationships, particularly across the transition to adolescence, and we review the literature on the application of mindfulness in parenting interventions. We close with a synopsis of our own efforts to integrate mindfulness-based intervention techniques and mindful parenting into a well-established, evidence-based family prevention program and our recommendations for future research on mindful parenting interventions

An ecodevelopmental framework for organizing the influences on drug abuse: A developmental model of risk and protection

The purpose of this chapter is to present a parsimonious explanatory framework for the complex body of knowledge on risk and protective factors for adolescent drug abuse. This explanatory framework is described as Structural Ecosystems Theory (SET; J. Szapocznik and R. A.Williams, 1999). First, the authors describe general trends and qualitative reorganizations in the risk and protective factors literature. The risk and protective factors of adolescent drug abuse are emphasized. Second, SET as a framework for organizing the literature on risk and protective factors for adolescent drug abuse is offered. Third utility of the framework in organizing the existing body of empirical findings is illustrated with examples from various research programs examining risk and protective factors in the development of adolescent substance use and other behavior problems. Lastly, the authors discuss the implications of the SET framework for formulating theory-driven preventive interventions that encompass the complexity of findings of risk and protective processes across social domains and life span development and the usefulness of the SET framework in avoiding iatrogenic effects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved

Adolescent Future Orientation: The Role of Identity Discovery in Self-Defining Activities and Context in Two Rural Samples

This study, using data from two samples of rural adolescents, examined how identity experiences in a self-defining activity and perception of access to opportunities were related to four dimensions ofadolescent future orientation and whether the relationship between identity experiences in a self-defining activity buffered the effects of limited opportunities on future orientation. Adolescents\u27 identity experiences in a self-defining activity emerged as having a significant, positive association with most dimensions of future orientation in both samples and were found to be the strongest predictors of futureorientation in Sample 1. In the more racially diverse Sample 2, perception of limited opportunities was the strongest and most consistent predictor of future orientation. In Sample 1, results also indicated that the strength of the negative relationship between limited opportunity and optimism is attenuated foradolescents reporting high levels of personal expressiveness compared to adolescents with low personal expressiveness. The findings suggest that interventions designed to target adolescents\u27 time use and leisure-related identity experiences may have an impact on adolescent future orientation