The Effect of Mindfulness on Stress in Mothers of Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Emotion Regulation Framework

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dc.contributor.authorConner, Caitlin Maryen
dc.contributor.committeechairWhite, Susan W.en
dc.contributor.committeememberWhite, Bradley A.en
dc.contributor.committeememberDeater-Deckard, Kirbyen
dc.contributor.departmentPsychologyen
dc.date.accessioned2014-03-14T21:36:11Zen
dc.date.adate2013-06-17en
dc.date.available2014-03-14T21:36:11Zen
dc.date.issued2013-05-03en
dc.date.rdate2013-06-17en
dc.date.sdate2013-05-14en
dc.description.abstractParents, especially mothers, of a child with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are more likely to experience higher levels of stress, and adaptive emotion regulation strategies, such as mindfulness and acceptance, may decrease stress among parents of children with ASD. Research has shown that mindfulness-based interventions reduce perceived stress among parents of typically developing children and improve the parent-child relationship, and similar interventions may be helpful for mothers of children with ASD. However, research has not yet established that mindfulness is related to decreased stress among parents. It is important to first establish this relationship, given the possibility that other factors, such as child behavioral difficulties or parental psychopathology are stronger predictors of maternal stress than the mother's regulation strategies. This study examined the unique contribution of maternal mindfulness to maternal stress in a sample of mothers (n = 154) who completed an online battery of measures. As predicted, maternal mindfulness significantly predicted level of maternal stress, above and beyond child behavior problems and maternal psychopathology, and this relationship was not moderated by child's ASD diagnosis. Maternal emotion regulation and effortful control were also significantly related to maternal stress, and may account for the explained variance of mindfulness. These findings and their implications are discussed.en
dc.description.degreeMaster of Scienceen
dc.identifier.otheretd-05142013-225639en
dc.identifier.sourceurlhttp://scholar.lib.vt.edu/theses/available/etd-05142013-225639/en
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10919/42662en
dc.publisherVirginia Techen
dc.relation.haspartConner_CM_T_2013.pdfen
dc.rightsIn Copyrighten
dc.rights.urihttp://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/en
dc.subjectautismen
dc.subjectmindfulnessen
dc.subjectparentingen
dc.subjectemotion regulationen
dc.titleThe Effect of Mindfulness on Stress in Mothers of Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Emotion Regulation Frameworken
dc.typeThesisen
thesis.degree.disciplinePsychologyen
thesis.degree.grantorVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State Universityen
thesis.degree.levelmastersen
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Scienceen

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