Abstract
Objectives
The social unrest that began in Hong Kong in 2019 became a threat to public mental health, such as for depression and post-traumatic stress disorders. A supportive family environment is the most effective protective factor for mental health problems for young people who are exposed to conflict and violence. This study investigated the outcomes of a brief mindful parenting workshop on parent mental health and family functioning.
Methods
Using a randomized controlled trial design, 54 parents of adolescents and young adults were randomized into intervention group and waitlist control group. Depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, negative emotions, family functioning, and family conflicts were measured at baseline (pretest), following training, and at 3-month follow-up.
Results
We found a significant improvement in family functioning among parents in the intervention group when compared to those parents in the control group (F [1, 51] = 4.41, p = .04). When we further controlled the child-initiated physical conflict as covariate, a significant reduction of self-rated levels of depressive symptoms was found in the parents from the intervention group when compared to the parents in the control group (F [1, 49] = 5.14, p = .03).
Conclusions
We found preliminary evidence that a brief mindful parenting workshop can strengthen parent and family mental health at times of social unrest.
The social unrest that began in Hong Kong in 2019 became a threat to public mental health, such as for depression and post-traumatic stress disorders. A supportive family environment is the most effective protective factor for mental health problems for young people who are exposed to conflict and violence. This study investigated the outcomes of a brief mindful parenting workshop on parent mental health and family functioning.
Methods
Using a randomized controlled trial design, 54 parents of adolescents and young adults were randomized into intervention group and waitlist control group. Depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress symptoms, negative emotions, family functioning, and family conflicts were measured at baseline (pretest), following training, and at 3-month follow-up.
Results
We found a significant improvement in family functioning among parents in the intervention group when compared to those parents in the control group (F [1, 51] = 4.41, p = .04). When we further controlled the child-initiated physical conflict as covariate, a significant reduction of self-rated levels of depressive symptoms was found in the parents from the intervention group when compared to the parents in the control group (F [1, 49] = 5.14, p = .03).
Conclusions
We found preliminary evidence that a brief mindful parenting workshop can strengthen parent and family mental health at times of social unrest.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 248-261 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Mindfulness |
| Volume | 13 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| Early online date | 2 Dec 2021 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jan 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.
Funding
This study was supported by the Policy Innovation and Co-ordination Office, The Government of the Hong Kong Special Area Region, Public Policy Research Funding Scheme (Special Round) (SR2020.A6.004).
Keywords
- Adolescents
- Mindful parenting
- Mindfulness-based intervention
- Parents
- Social unrest
