Abstract
Greed, which is detrimental, is suggested to be a disposition developed at an early stage of life. Since parenting practices have profound impacts on youth development, the current study aimed to explore whether mindful parenting could prevent adolescents from being greedy and examine the mediating role of adolescent core self-evaluations. Study 1 (N = 272) used self-reported data from adolescents to test the hypotheses. Study 2 (N = 525) provided further evidence with multisource data from both adolescents and their primary caregivers (mainly mothers). The results indicated that both mindful parenting perceived by adolescents and mindful parenting reported by primary caregivers had significant impacts on adolescent dispositional greed, and the mediating effect of adolescent core self-evaluations was significant. Mindful parenting could inhibit adolescent greed partially by contributing positively to children’s core self-evaluations. The theoretical and practical implications of the current study results as well as future research directions are discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baril, M. E., Crouter, A. C., & McHale, S. M. (2007). Processes linking adolescent well-being, marital love, and coparenting. Journal of Family Psychology, 21(4), 645–654. https://doi.org/10.1037/0893-3200.21.4.645.
Bogels, S. M., Hellemans, J., van Deursen, S., Romer, M., & van der Meulen, R. (2014). Mindful parenting in mental health care: Effects on parental and child psychopathology, parental stress, parenting, coparenting, and marital functioning. Mindfulness, 5(5), 536–551. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-013-0209-7.
Bornstein, M. H., & Sawyer, J. (2006). Family systems. In K. McCartney & D. Phillips (Eds.), Blackwell handbook on early childhood development (pp. 381–398). Malden: Blackwell.
Chang, L. C., & Arkin, R. M. (2002). Materialism as an attempt to cope with uncertainty. Psychology & Marketing, 19(5), 389–406. https://doi.org/10.1002/mar.10016.
Chang, C. H., Ferris, D. L., Johnson, R. E., Rosen, C. C., & Tan, J. A. (2012). Core self-evaluations: A review and evaluation of the literature. Journal of Management, 38(1), 81–128. https://doi.org/10.1177/0149206311419661.
Chaplin, L. N., & John, D. R. (2007). Growing up in a material world: Age differences in materialism in children and adolescents. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(4), 480–493. https://doi.org/10.1086/518546.
Chaplin, L. N., & John, D. R. (2010). Interpersonal influences on adolescent materialism: A new look at the role of parents and peers. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20(2), 176–184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2010.02.002.
Chen, B. B. (2018). An evolutionary life history approach to understanding greed. Personality and Individual Differences, 127, 74–78. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.02.006.
Coatsworth, J. D., Timpe, Z., Nix, R. L., Duncan, L. G., & Greenberg, M. T. (2018). Changes in mindful parenting: Associations with changes in parenting, parent-youth relationship quality, and youth behavior. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 9(4), 511–529. https://doi.org/10.1086/701148.
Cohen, J. A. S., & Semple, R. J. (2010). Mindful parenting: A call for research. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 19(2), 145–151. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-009-9285-7.
DeHart, T., Pelham, B. W., & Tennen, H. (2006). What lies beneath: Parenting style and implicit self-esteem. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 42(1), 1–17. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2004.12.005.
Duncan, L. G. (2007). Assessment of mindful parenting among parents of early adolescents: Development and validation of the interpersonal mindfulness in parenting scale. Pennsylvania: The Pennsylvania State University.
Duncan, L. G., Coatsworth, J. D., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). A model of mindful parenting: Implications for parent-child relationships and prevention research. Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review, 12(3), 255–270. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10567-009-0046-3.
Duncan, L. G., Coatsworth, J. D., Gayles, J. G., Geier, M. H., & Greenberg, M. T. (2015). Can mindful parenting be observed? Relations between observational ratings of mother-youth interactions and mothers' self-report of mindful parenting. Journal of Family Psychology, 29(2), 276–282. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038857.
Erel, O., & Burman, B. (1995). Interrelatedness of marital relations and parent-child relations: A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 118(1), 108–132. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.118.1.108.
Geurtzen, N., Scholte, R. H. J., Engels, R. C. M. E., Tak, Y. R., & van Zundert, R. M. P. (2015). Association between mindful parenting and adolescents' internalizing problems: Non-judgmental acceptance of parenting as core element. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 24(4), 1117–1128. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-014-9920-9.
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(3), 700–712. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0507-y.
Holden, G. W., Hawk, C. K., Smith, M. M., Singh, J., & Ashraf, R. (2017). Disciplinary practices, Metaparenting, and the quality of Parent-child relationships in African-American, Mexican-American, and European-American mothers. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 41(4), 482–490. https://doi.org/10.1177/0165025416687414.
Huxley, E., & Bizumic, B. (2017). Parental invalidation and the development of narcissism. Journal of Psychology, 151(2), 130–147. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223980.2016.1248807.
Jiang, J., Zhang, Y., Ke, Y. N., Hawk, S. T., & Qiu, H. (2015). Can't buy me friendship? Peer rejection and adolescent materialism: Implicit self-esteem as a mediator. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 58, 48–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2015.01.001.
Judge, T. A., Locke, E. A., & Durham, C. C. (1997). The dispositional causes of job satisfaction: A core evaluations approach. Research in Organizational Behavior, 19, 151–188.
Judge, T. A., Erez, A., Bono, J. E., & Thoresen, C. J. (2003). The core self-evaluations scale: Development of a measure. Personnel Psychology, 56(2), 303–331. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-6570.2003.tb00152.x.
Judge, T. A., Van Vianen, A. E., & De Pater, I. E. (2004). Emotional stability, core self-evaluations, and job outcomes: A review of the evidence and an agenda for future research. Human Performance, 17(3), 325–346. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15327043hup1703_4.
Kabat-Zinn, J., & Kabat-Zinn, M. (1997). Everyday blessings: The inner work of mindful parenting. New York: Hyperion.
Kong, F., Wang, X., & Zhao, J. (2014). Dispositional mindfulness and life satisfaction: The role of core self-evaluations. Personality and Individual Differences, 56, 165–169. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2013.09.002.
Koumoundourou, G., Tsaousis, I., & Kounenou, K. (2010). Parental influences on Greek adolescents’ career decision-making difficulties: The mediating role of core self-evaluations. Journal of Career Assessment, 19(2), 165–182. https://doi.org/10.1177/1069072710385547.
Krekels, G. (2015). Essays on dispositional greed: The effect of insatiability on consumer behavior. Ghent, Belgium: Ghent University.
Krekels, G., & Pandelaere, M. (2015). Dispositional greed. Personality and Individual Differences, 74, 225–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.10.036.
Krishnakumar, A., & Buehler, C. (2000). Interparental conflict and parenting behaviors: A meta-analytic review. Family Relations, 49(1), 25–44. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1741-3729.2000.00025.x.
Li, J., Lu, M. X., Xia, T., & Guo, Y. Y. (2018). Materialism as compensation for self-esteem among lower-class students. Personality and Individual Differences, 131, 191–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.04.038.
Lippold, M. A., Duncan, L. G., Coatsworth, J. D., Nix, R. L., & Greenberg, M. T. (2015). Understanding how mindful parenting may be linked to mother-adolescent communication. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44(9), 1663–1673. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0325-x.
Liu, D., Ksinan, A. J., & Vazsonyi, A. T. (2018). Maternal support and deviance among rural adolescents: The mediating role of self-esteem. Journal of Adolescence, 69, 62–71. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.09.003.
Liu, Z., Sun, X., Ding, X., Hu, X., Xu, Z., & Fu, Z. (2019). Psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the dispositional greed scale and a portrait of greedy people. Personality and Individual Differences, 137, 101–109. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.08.012.
Moreira, H., Gouveia, M. J., & Canavarro, M. C. (2018). Is mindful parenting associated with adolescents' well-being in early and middle/late adolescence? The mediating role of adolescents' attachment representations, self-compassion and mindfulness. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 47(8), 1771–1788. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-018-0808-7.
Mussel, P., & Hewig, J. (2016). The life and times of individuals scoring high and low on dispositional greed. Journal of Research in Personality, 64, 52–60. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2016.07.002.
Mussel, P., Reiter, A. M. F., Osinsky, R., & Hewig, J. (2015). State- and trait-greed, its impact on risky decision-making and underlying neural mechanisms. Social Neuroscience, 10(2), 126–134. https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2014.965340.
Mussel, P., Rodrigues, J., Krumm, S., & Hewig, J. (2018). The convergent validity of five dispositional greed scales. Personality and Individual Differences, 131, 249–253. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.05.006.
Noguti, V., & Bokeyar, A. L. (2014). Who am I? The relationship between self-concept uncertainty and materialism. International Journal of Psychology, 49(5), 323–333. https://doi.org/10.1002/ijop.12031.
Parent, J., McKee, L. G., Anton, M., Gonzalez, M., Jones, D. J., & Forehand, R. (2016a). Mindfulness in parenting and Coparenting. Mindfulness, 7(2), 504–513. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-015-0485-5.
Parent, J., McKee, L. G., Jennifer, N. R., & Forehand, R. (2016b). The Association of Parent Mindfulness with parenting and youth psychopathology across three developmental stages. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 44(1), 191–202. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-015-9978-x.
Park, J. K., & John, D. R. (2011). More than meets the eye: The influence of implicit and explicit self-esteem on materialism. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 21(1), 73–87. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcps.2010.09.001.
Podsakoff, P. M., MacKenzie, S. B., Lee, J. Y., & Podsakoff, N. P. (2003). Common method biases in behavioral research: A critical review of the literature and recommended remedies. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88(5), 879–903. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-9010.88.5.879.
Reti, I. M., Samuels, J. F., Eaton, W. W., Bienvenu, O. J., Costa, P. T., & Nestadt, G. (2002). Adult antisocial personality traits are associated with experiences of low parental care and maternal overprotection. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 106(2), 126–133. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0447.2002.02305.x.
Riina, E. M., & McHale, S. M. (2014). Bidirectional influences between dimensions of coparenting and adolescent adjustment. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 43(2), 257–269. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-013-9940-6.
Seuntjens, T. G., Zeelenberg, M., Breugelmans, S. M., & van de Ven, N. (2015a). Defining greed. British Journal of Psychology, 106(3), 505–525. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12100.
Seuntjens, T. G., Zeelenberg, M., van de Ven, N., & Breugelmans, S. M. (2015b). Dispositional greed. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 108(6), 917–933. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000031.
Seuntjens, T. G., van de Ven, N., Zeelenberg, M., & van der Schors, A. (2016). Greed and adolescent financial behavior. Journal of Economic Psychology, 57, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.joep.2016.09.002.
Seuntjens, T. G., Zeelenberg, M., van de Ven, N., & Breugelmans, S. M. (2019). Greedy bastards: Testing the relationship between wanting more and unethical behavior. Personality and Individual Differences, 138, 147–156. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2018.09.027.
Singh, N. N., Lancioni, G. E., Winton, A. S. W., Singh, J., Curtis, W. J., Wahler, R. G., et al. (2007). Mindful parenting decreases aggression and increases social behavior in children with developmental disabilities. Behavior Modification, 31(6), 749–771. https://doi.org/10.1177/0145445507300924.
Wang, Y. Y., Liang, Y. Y., Fan, L. L., Lin, K. X., Xie, X. L., Pan, J. H., et al. (2018). The indirect path from mindful parenting to emotional problems in adolescents: The role of maternal warmth and adolescents' mindfulness. Frontiers in Psychology, 9. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00546.
Wong, W.-L. L., & Kam, C. M. (2019). Psychometric properties of the Chinese Metaparenting profile questionnaire short-form. Current Psychology, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00335-5.
Funding
This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grant Number 71971028], the Beijing Municipal Natural Science Foundation [Grant Number 9202009], and the Advanced Innovation Center for Future Education at Beijing Normal University [Grant Number 27900–110631111].
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
Zhenzhen Liu participated the study design, performed the statistical analysis, drafted the manuscript and revised the manuscript; Xiaomin Sun led the study design, prepared the materials and revised the manuscript; Yarong Guo participated the study design and collected the data; Fang Luo helped to analyze the data and participated in the interpretation of the data. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with 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.
Informed Consent
Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.
Conflict of Interest
The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Liu, Z., Sun, X., Guo, Y. et al. Mindful parenting inhibits adolescents from being greedy: The mediating role of adolescent core self-evaluations. Curr Psychol 42, 15991–16000 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00577-3
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-019-00577-3