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).
UN SDGs
This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
-
SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Keywords
- Adolescents
- Mindful parenting
- Mindfulness-based intervention
- Parents
- Social unrest
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