The Effects of Parental Mindfulness on Preschoolers’ Prosocial Behavior: The Chain Mediating Model of Marital Quality, Authoritative Parenting, and the Sex Difference

Family system factors have been identified as closely associated with children's prosocial behavior, yet the underlying mechanisms that may mediate this relationship are not obscure. In conjunction with family system theory, attachment theory, and social learning theory, the current study aimed to examine the association between parental mindfulness and preschoolers' prosocial behavior and the mediating role of marital quality as well as authoritative parenting. A sample of 754 parents of preschoolers recruited from China completed the questionnaires. The findings revealed that (1) parental mindfulness was significantly and positively associated with preschoolers' prosocial behavior, marital quality, and authoritative parenting. (2) Parental mindfulness would increase prosocial behavior through the indirect path of marital quality and authoritative parenting, as well as the chain mediating path between these two variables. (3) Multigroup comparison revealed all paths were significant in the boy group. However, in the girl group, only the independent mediating effect of authoritative parenting and the chain mediation effect of marital quality and authoritative parenting were significant. (4) Moreover, the effect size was larger in the girl group for both the independent mediating path of authoritative parenting and the chain mediation path of marital quality and authoritative parenting. Overall, these findings advance the understanding of how parental mindfulness influences preschoolers' prosocial behavior. Implications for research on mobile phone use are discussed.