Roles of Parental Psychological Flexibility, Self-Compassion, and Self-Efficacy in Affecting Mental Health and Quality of Life in Parents of Children with Eczema

Abstract

Parents of young children with eczema often experience adverse mental health consequences, including depression, anxiety, stress, and a reduced health-related quality of life (HRQoL), due to the unpredictable nature of flare-ups and exacerbations. This study investigated the roles of psychological flexibility, self-compassion, and self-efficacy in fostering parental mental health outcomes and HRQoL while caring for children diagnosed with eczema. Baseline data from an ongoing clinical trial examining the effects of a family acceptance-and-commitment-therapy-based eczema management program (FACT-EMP) on parent–child dyads affected by eczema (N = 110 dyads, 75.5% mothers; 66.4% boys) were analyzed using adjusted hierarchical regression analyses. The findings indicate that psychological inflexibility was significantly associated with symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress, and HRQoL. Self-compassion was significantly linked to all assessed mental health outcomes, whereas self-efficacy showed a significant association only with symptoms of depression. These results underscore the significance of promoting parental psychological flexibility and self-compassion through acceptance and commitment therapy and compassion-based approaches to enhance mental health and quality of life while managing children’s eczema.

Keywords

• psychological flexibility
• self-compassion
• mental health
• quality of life
• parents
• eczema