Bidirectional longitudinal relationships between parents' marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and self-compassion in China

Fam Process. 2023 Jun;62(2):835-850. doi: 10.1111/famp.12785. Epub 2022 Jun 13.

Abstract
in English, Chinese

Abundant research has shown that self-compassion robustly contributes to adults' psychological well-being. Meanwhile, a few studies have shown that self-compassion is rooted in early experiences with parents. However, it is unclear whether interactions with partners and children affect adults' self-compassion, and the role of their self-compassion in interactions with significant others. This study examined bidirectional longitudinal relationships between Chinese parents' marital satisfaction, parenting stress, and self-compassion following a three-wave longitudinal design. A sample of 322 Chinese father-mother dyads (father's Mage = 35.84, SDage = 5.76; mother's Mage = 34.32, SDage = 5.46) completed a set of questionnaires at three time points. The results showed that marital satisfaction positively predicted the fathers' and mothers' self-compassion, while parenting stress did not significantly predict the parents' self-compassion; In contrast, parents' self-compassion did not significantly predict marital satisfaction or parenting stress. Additionally, there was a bidirectional relationship between marital satisfaction and parenting stress in fathers and mothers. Finally, mothers' marital satisfaction positively mediated the relationship between parenting stress and self-compassion/next-stage parenting stress. This study revealed that adults' self-compassion can develop from caring and supportive relationships, including marital relationships. Highlighting key mechanisms of marital satisfaction, such as increasing self-compassion and reducing parenting stress, may contribute to the improvement of adults' mental health.

大量研究表明，自我同情对成年人的心理健康大有裨益。与此同时，一些研究表明，自我同情植根于早期与父母相处的经历。然而，与伴侣和孩子的互动是否会影响成年人的自我同情，以及他们的自我同情在与亲密伴侣的互动中的作用，目前尚不清楚。本研究采用三波纵向设计，探讨中国父母婚姻满意度、父母养育压力与自我同情之间的双向纵向关系。样本为322对中国父母(父亲的Mage = 35.84, SDage = 5.76;母亲的Mage = 34.32, SDage = 5.46) ，他们在三个时间点完成了一组问卷。结果表明，婚姻满意度对父母自我同情有正向预测作用，而父母养育子女的压力对父母自我同情无显著正向预测作用; 相反，父母的自我同情并不能显著预测婚姻满意度或养育压力。此外，父母的婚姻满意度与育儿压力之间存在双向关系。母亲的婚姻满意度在育儿压力与自我同情/下一阶段育儿压力的关系中起正向调和作用。这项研究表明，成年人的自我同情可以从关心和支持的关系中发展，包括婚姻关系。强调婚姻满意度的关键机制，如增加自我同情和减少为人父母的压力，可能有助于改善成年人的心理健康。.

Keywords: Chinese parents; cross-lagged design; marital satisfaction; parenting stress; self-compassion; 中国父母; 交叉滞后设计; 婚姻满意度; 育儿压力; 自我同情.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • China
  • Fathers
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Marriage* / psychology
  • Mothers / psychology
  • Parenting* / psychology
  • Parents / psychology
  • Personal Satisfaction
  • Self-Compassion