Abstract
Objectives
This study aimed to explore: (1) whether fatigue, difficulties in emotion regulation and mindful parenting differ based on maternal anxious and/or depressive symptomatology levels in the postpartum period; (2) whether difficulties in emotion regulation mediate the relationship between fatigue and mindful parenting; and (3) whether maternal symptomatology moderates these relationships.
Methods
A sample of 295 Portuguese mothers of infants aged up to 12 months completed self-report instruments assessing mindful parenting, fatigue, anxious and depressive symptoms and difficulties in emotion regulation.
Results
Mothers with clinically significant symptomatology levels showed higher levels of fatigue, more difficulties in emotion regulation and lower levels of mindful parenting than mothers with normal levels of symptomatology. Higher levels of fatigue were directly associated with lower levels of mindful parenting but only in the group of mothers with low levels of symptomatology. In addition, higher levels of fatigue were indirectly associated with lower levels of mindful parenting through higher levels of difficulties in emotion regulation regardless of the mothers’ symptomatology levels.
Conclusions
The results of this study highlight the need to reduce fatigue and anxious and/or depressive symptomatology, as well as foster adaptive emotion regulation among mothers in the postpartum period.
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MIC designed and executed the study, conducted the data analyses, and wrote the paper. HM collaborated with the design and writing of the study, assisted with the data analyses and editing of the final manuscript. Both authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
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All procedures involving human participants in this study were performed according to the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra. Every participant in the present study gave their informed consent.
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Caçador, M.I., Moreira, H. Fatigue and Mindful Parenting in the Postpartum Period: The Role of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation and Anxious and Depressive Symptomatology. Mindfulness 12, 2253–2265 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01688-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01688-4