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Mindful Parenting Decreases Aggression and Increases Social Behavior in Children With Developmental Disabilities
Nirbhay N. Singh
ONE Research Institute, nirbsingh52{at}aol.com
Giulio E. Lancioni
University of Bari, Italy
Alan S. W. Winton
Massey University
Judy Singh
ONE Research Institute
W. John Curtis
University of Rochester
Robert G. Wahler
University of Tennessee
Kristen M. McAleavey
Longwood University
Research shows that after training in the philosophy and practice of mindfulness, parents can mindfully attend to the challenging behaviors of their children with autism. Parents also report an increased satisfaction with their parenting skills and social interactions with their children. These findings were replicated and extended with 4 parents of children who had developmental disabilities, exhibited aggressive behavior, and had limited social skills. After mindfulness training, the parents were able to decrease aggressive behavior and increase their children's social skills. They also reported a greater practice of mindfulness, increased satisfaction with their parenting, more social interactions with their children, and lower parenting stress. Furthermore, the children showed increased positive and decreased negative social interactions with their siblings. We speculate that mindfulness produces transformational change in the parents that is reflected in enhanced positive behavioral transactions with their children.
Key Words: mindful parenting • childhood aggression • social interaction • parental stress • satisfaction with parenting
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Behavior Modification, Vol. 31, No. 6,
749-771 (2007)
DOI: 10.1177/0145445507300924
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