Investigating the mediating role of mindful parenting in the relationship between maternal depression and child internalizing and externalizing cognitive-emotional problems

Authors
maeede teymori
mohammadreza shaeeri
Hojjatollah farahni
دانشیار، گروه روانشناسی بالینی، دانشکده علوم انسانی، دانشگاه شاهد، تهران، ایران
Abstract
Cognitive-emotional internalizing and externalizing problems are among the most significant psychological challenges of childhood, potentially affecting children's mental and social well-being in the future. Maternal depression has been identified as a key factor contributing to these problems; however, the underlying mechanisms of this association remain unclear. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of mindful parenting in the relationship between maternal depression and children's cognitive-emotional internalizing and externalizing problems.

This applied research employed a correlational design using structural equation modeling. The statistical population included all mothers of elementary school children in Tehran during the 2023-2024 academic year, from whom 385 participants were selected through multistage cluster sampling. Data were collected using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Antony et al., 1998), the Mindful Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ; McCaffrey, Reitman, & Black, 2015), and the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001), completed by mothers. Data analysis was conducted using SPSS23 and LISREL 8.

The results of structural equation modeling indicated that the proposed model had a good fit. Findings showed a significant positive relationship between maternal depression and children's cognitive-emotional internalizing and externalizing problems (p < 0.01). Furthermore, the "being in the present moment with the child" component (a subdimension of mindful parenting) significantly mediated this relationship. Specifically, maternal depression, by reducing the mother's mindful presence in interactions with the child, led to an increase in children's cognitive-emotional problems.

These findings highlight the importance of training parents in mindfulness skills, particularly the ability to be present with their children, as an effective strategy for mitigating the negative impact of maternal depression on children's cognitive-emotional well-being. Consequently, intervention programs in child and family mental health should emphasize the enhancement of mindful parenting among parents.

Keywords
depression
Mindful Parenting
Internalizing Problems in Children
Externalizing Problems in Children
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Child behavior checklist for ages 6-18 (pp. 6-1). Burlington, VT: University of Vermont.
Asghari, A., Saed, F., & Dibajnia, P. (2008). Psychometric properties of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales-21 (DASS-21) in a non-clinical Iranian sample. Int J psychol, 2(2), 82-102.
Baghestan, E. B., Shahabizadeh, F., & Tabatabaee, T. (2021). Translation and validation of a Persian version of the mindfulness in parenting questionnaire: P-MIPQ. Health Technology Assessment in Action.
Cacador, M. I., & Moreira, H. (2021). Fatigue and mindful parenting in the postpartum period: The role of difficulties in emotion regulation and anxious and depressive symptomatology. Mindfulness, 12(9), 2253-2265.
Cheung, R. Y., Cheng, W. Y., Li, J. B., Lam, C. B., & Chung, K. K. H. (2021). Parents’ depressive symptoms and child adjustment: The mediating role of mindful parenting and children’s self-regulation. Mindfulness, 12, 2729-2742.
Fernandes, D. V., Canavarro, M. C., & Moreira, H. (2021). The mediating role of parenting stress in the relationship between anxious and depressive symptomatology, mothers’ perception of infant temperament, and mindful parenting during the postpartum period. Mindfulness, 12, 275-290.
Glenn R. Mesman, Nicola A. Edge, L. McKelvey, Joy L. Pemberton, & Khiela J. Holmes. (2017). Effects of Maternal Depression Symptoms and Alcohol Use Problems on Child Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems. In Journal of Child and Family Studies. https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/5237fa73fe1269c4f8c6c62dd3170f14d908827e
Gouveia, M. J., Carona, C., Canavarro, M. C., & Moreira, H. (2016). Self-compassion and dispositional mindfulness are associated with parenting styles and parenting stress: The mediating role of mindful parenting. Mindfulness, 7, 700-712.
He, J., Rahman, M. N. B. A., Xu, M., & Jiang, M. (2025). The impact of maternal mindful parenting on preschoolers' emotional regulation abilities: The mediating role of depression and the moderating role of the parent-child relationship. Acta Psychologica, 252, 104685.
Henrichs, J., Van Den Heuvel, M. I., Witteveen, A. B., Wilschut, J., & Van den Bergh, B. R. (2021). Does mindful parenting mediate the association between maternal anxiety during pregnancy and child behavioral/emotional problems?. Mindfulness, 12, 370-380.
Hentges, R. F., Graham, S. A., Plamondon, A., Tough, S., & Madigan, S. (2021). Bidirectional associations between maternal depression, hostile parenting, and early child emotional problems: Findings from the all our families cohort. Journal of Affective Disorders, 287, 397-404.
Kang, N. R., Kwack, Y. S., Song, J. K., Kim, M. D., Park, J. H., Kim, B. N., & Moon, D. S. (2021). The impact of maternal adverse childhood experiences on offspring’s internalizing and externalizing problems. Psychiatry Investigation, 18(11), 1050.
Khoshroo, S., & Seyed Mousavi, P. S. (2022). Parental reflective functioning as a moderator for the relationship between maternal depression and child internalizing and externalizing problems. Child Psychiatry & Human Development, 53(6), 1319-1329.
Khoury, J. E., Kaur, H., & Gonzalez, A. (2021). Parental mental health and hostility are associated with longitudinal increases in child internalizing and externalizing problems during COVID-19. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 706168.
Letourneau, N., Dewey, D., Kaplan, B. J., Ntanda, H., Novick, J., Thomas, J. C., ... & APrON Study Team. (2019). Intergenerational transmission of adverse childhood experiences via maternal depression and anxiety and moderation by child sex. Journal of developmental origins of health and disease, 10(1), 88-99.
Lovibond, S. H., & Lovibond, P. F. (1995). Manual for the depression, anxiety and stress scale-21 items (DASS-21). Manual for the depression anxiety & stress scales, 1-2.
Makara-Studzińska, M., Tyburski, E., Załuski, M., Adamczyk, K., Mesterhazy, J., & Mesterhazy, A. (2022). Confirmatory factor analysis of three versions of the depression anxiety stress scale (DASS-42, DASS-21, and DASS-12) in Polish adults. Frontiers in psychiatry, 12, 770532.
Mammarella, I. C., Caviola, S., Rossi, S., Patron, E., & Palomba, D. (2023). Multidimensional components of (state) mathematics anxiety: Behavioral, cognitive, emotional, and psychophysiological consequences. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1523(1), 91-103.
McCaffrey, S., Reitman, D., & Black, R. (2017). Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ): Development and validation of a measure of mindful parenting. Mindfulness, 8, 232-246.
Mohammadi, Z. D., Bavi, S., & Human, F. (2022). Effectiveness of metacognitive therapy in behavioral-emotional problem, cognitive-emotional regulation strategies, and mind wandering of 9 to 13-year-old children with ADHD: A quasi-experimental study. Jundishapur Journal of Chronic Disease Care, 11(4).
Nobre‐Trindade, C., Caçador, M. I., Canavarro, M. C., & Moreira, H. (2021). Mothers’ psychopathology symptoms and mindful parenting in the postpartum period: The role of parental reflective functioning. Infant mental health journal, 42(6), 784-795.
Power, J., van IJzendoorn, M., Lewis, A. J., Chen, W., & Galbally, M. (2021). Maternal perinatal depression and child executive function: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 291, 218-234.
Preiß, J., Lang, A., Hauser, T., Angerer, M., Schernhardt, P., & Schabus, M. (2025). Maternal characteristics and their relation to early mother-child interaction and cognitive development in toddlers. PloS one, 20(1), e0301876.
Prenoveau, J. M., Craske, M. G., West, V., Giannakakis, A., Zioga, M., Lehtonen, A., ... & Stein, A. (2017). Maternal postnatal depression and anxiety and their association with child emotional negativity and behavior problems at two years. Developmental Psychology, 53(1), 50.
Rees, S., Channon, S., & Waters, C. S. (2019). The impact of maternal prenatal and postnatal anxiety on children’s emotional problems: a systematic review. European child & adolescent psychiatry, 28, 257-280.
Shuffrey, L. C., Sania, A., Brito, N. H., Potter, M., Springer, P., Lucchini, M., ... & Fifer, W. P. (2022). Association of maternal depression and anxiety with toddler social-emotional and cognitive development in South Africa: a prospective cohort study. BMJ open, 12(4), e058135.
Śliwerski, A., Kossakowska, K., Jarecka, K., Świtalska, J., & Bielawska-Batorowicz, E. (2020). The effect of maternal depression on infant attachment: A systematic review. International journal of environmental research and public health, 17(8), 2675.
Sun, Y., Li, Y., Wang, J., Chen, Q., Bazzano, A. N., & Cao, F. (2021). Effectiveness of smartphone-based mindfulness training on maternal perinatal depression: randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 23(1), e23410.
Tichelman, E., Warmink-Perdijk, W., Henrichs, J., Peters, L., Schellevis, F. G., Berger, M. Y., & Burger, H. (2021). Intrapartum synthetic oxytocin, behavioral and emotional problems in children, and the role of postnatal depressive symptoms, postnatal anxiety and mother-to-infant bonding: A Dutch prospective cohort study. Midwifery, 100, 103045.