Mindful Parenting as a Mediator in Parents’ Perspective-Taking: Exploring the Roles of Causal Attribution and Self-Compassion

Abstract

Background: Existing literature has examined the link between parent causal attribution and self-compassion in parent perspective-taking, but the impact of mindful parenting as a mediator remains underexplored. Purpose: The present study examines the mediating effect of mindful parenting on the relationship between parental attribution and self-compassion in parents’ perspective-taking. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, 208 parents aged 30 to 59 (M = 42, SD = 4.3) with first-born adolescents aged 12–18 participated in the study. Results: The results revealed that mindful parenting fully mediated the relationship between parental causal attribution and perspective-taking while partially mediating the association between self-compassion and perspective-taking. Conclusion: These findings emphasize the crucial role of mindful parenting in explaining the relationship between parent causal attribution, self-compassion, and parent perspective-taking. Further research is needed to explore these relationships in more diverse and representative samples.