The relationship between mothers’ attachment style, mindful parenting, and perception of the child

Abstract

Introduction Maternal attachment style plays a major role in the intergenerational transmission of psychopathology. Previous studies indicated that a secure attachment style is associated with higher levels of mindfulness and a higher quality of the parent-child relationship. Objectives The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between the mothers’ attachment style, mindful parenting, and perception of the child. Methods Data was collected from 144 non-clinical mothers, who have a child below the age of 3 years. Mothers completed self-report questionnaires including the following scales: a demographic questionnaire, Attachment Style Questionnaire (ASQ), Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale (IMP), and the Mothers’ Object Relations Scale (MORS-SF). Mediation analyses with Mothers’ Object Relations Scale warmth and invasion subscales as dependent variables, mother’s attachment style as an independent variable and, mindful parenting as a mediator were conducted. Results In mediation analysis, the direct effects of the mothers’ attachment style on the perception of the child were not significant. However, indirect effects through mindful parenting were significant; higher levels of mindful parenting were associated with higher levels of MORS-SF warmth and lower levels of MORS-SF invasion. Conclusions These findings suggest that attachment styles are related to the perception of the child through mindful parenting. Mindfulness-based parenting training might be useful in case of attachment-related problems to improve the parent-child relationship. Disclosure No significant relationships.

Keywords

• mindful parenting
• maternal attachment
• child perception
• mindfulness