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Psychometric Properties of the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale in a Sample of Portuguese Mothers

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Abstract

The Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting scale (IM-P) is a self-report questionnaire for measuring mindful parenting. The goal of this study was to explore the psychometric properties and factor structure of the Portuguese version of the IM-P. Three studies were conducted. The first study included 300 mothers of children/adolescents, the second study included 323 mothers of children/adolescents, and the third study included 237 mothers and 142 fathers of children/adolescents. In study 1, the exploratory factor analysis and the reliability analyses resulted in a five-factor structure. Furthermore, the scale scores showed adequate internal consistency and correlated as expected with measures of self-compassion, parenting stress, and perceived stress, evidencing adequate convergent validity. In study 2, the five-factor structure was confirmed through a confirmatory factor analysis. In study 3, the construct validity of the scale (convergent and known-groups) was further explored. Significant correlations were found between the IM-P and measures of self-compassion, parenting styles, and anxious/depressive symptomatology. Mothers reported higher levels of compassion for the child and emotional awareness of the child but lower levels of non-judgmental acceptance of parental functioning than fathers. This study demonstrated that mindful parenting can be measured through the assessment of five dimensions (Listening with Full Attention, Compassion for the Child, Non-judgmental Acceptance of Parental Functioning, Self-regulation in Parenting, and Emotional Awareness of the Child) and confirmed that the Portuguese version is an adequate measure of this construct.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology under Grant SFRH/BPD/70063/2010. The authors would like to thank Bárbara Nazaré, Carlos Carona, and Neuza Silva for their help in the translation of the IM-P.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Cognitive-Behavioural Center for Research and Intervention, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Coimbra, Rua do Colégio Novo, Apartado 6153, 3001-802, Coimbra, Portugal

    Helena Moreira & Maria Cristina Canavarro

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  1. Helena Moreira
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  2. Maria Cristina Canavarro
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Correspondence to Helena Moreira.

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Funding

This study was supported by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (Grant number SFRH/BPD/70063/2010).

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. In addition, the study was approved by the Portuguese Data Protection Authority and the Board of Directors of the School Unit.

Conflict of Interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all the participants included in the study.

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Moreira, H., Canavarro, M.C. Psychometric Properties of the Interpersonal Mindfulness in Parenting Scale in a Sample of Portuguese Mothers. Mindfulness 8, 691–706 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0647-0

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