Maternal Trait Mindfulness and Social Competence of Preschoolers: History
View Latest Version
Please note this is an old version of this entry, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Contributor:
Jinxia Han
,
Shuo Feng
,
Ziming Wang
,
Jingyu He
,
Hehong Quan
,
Chun Li

The impact of maternal trait mindfulness on the development of preschoolers' social competence is receiving increasing attention from researchers. (1) Maternal trait mindfulness was positively related to preschoolers' social competence; (2) Maternal self-control and problematic social media use independently mediated the relationship between maternal trait mindfulness and preschoolers' social competence; (3) Maternal self-control and problematic social media use play a chain-mediating role between maternal trait mindfulness and preschoolers' social competence. 

  • trait mindfulness
  • social competence
  • self-control

1. Introduction

One of the most crucial skills for the social development of preschoolers is social competence. It describes the capacity to flexibly deploy behavioral, cognitive, and emotional resources to accomplish social goals in a specific situation [1]. It encompasses a range of fundamental abilities required for interpersonal and social interactions, including emotional comprehension and control, peer engagement, and adherence to social norms [2]. The development of social competence in early childhood is crucial for subsequent emotional, cognitive, and behavioral adjustment. Strong social competence helps children create and sustain strong interpersonal interactions [3,4].
Mothers are the major nurturers and important people in their children’s development [5], and their characteristics (such as trait mindfulness) can have a subtle influence on their children’s social competence [6]. In addition, with the rise in popularity of social media, maternal parenting styles are inevitably influenced by social media. However, due to the “fragmented” use of cell phones [7], it is challenging for mothers to exercise self-control over their frequent and automatic use of social media, even when they are with their children [7]. According to research, excessive social media use can hurt a person’s physical, mental, and interpersonal health [8]. Additionally, social displacement theory contends that maternal use of social media can replace or lessen meaningful parent–child interactions in the real world [9], which in turn affects how socially competent children become.

2. Maternal Trait Mindfulness and Social Competence of Preschoolers

2.1. The Influence of Maternal Trait Mind on Preschoolers' Social Competence

Trait mindfulness refers to a person's capacity or propensity to practice mindfulness in daily life, i.e., to adopt an accepting and nonjudgmental attitude to concentrate on what is thought and felt in the present moment. This capacity or tendency is shared by all people, albeit it varies from person to person [10,11]. In parenting, trait mindfulness extends from personal introspection to interpersonal interactions between mother and child [12]. Mothers with higher levels of mindfulness tend to listen and respond to their children's needs with full attention and acceptance of their own and their children's emotions and thoughts, resulting in less impulsive behavior and more inclusive parent-child communication. Research has shown that mothers' positive attention and expression of emotion to their children can predict their popularity among peers and the development of social skills [13]. Mothers with low levels of mindfulness tend to be insensitive to their children's needs, and they often fail to effectively regulate their negative emotions in parenting and tend to criticize and blame their children [14], which greatly reduces the chances of preschoolers gaining social competence from positive interpersonal relationships [15]. This results in poor emotional regulation and more peer interaction problems [16], which in the long run can hinder the development of social skills. Based on this, this study suggests that maternal trait mindfulness positively predicts preschoolers' social competence.

2.2. The Relationship between Maternal Trait Mindfulness, Self-Control, and Preschoolers' Social Competence

According to research, self-control and trait mindfulness have a very strong and beneficial relationship [17]. Self-control refers to a person's capacity to regulate their feelings, stifle undesirable or inappropriate behavioral inclinations in their minds, and refrain from acting following those intentions [18]. Effective self-control behaviors depend on the resources that are accessible, and the more adequate the resources, the better the individual's self-control performance [19]. If a person's self-control reserves are exhausted, this might impede socially adapted behavior and make them ineffective [20], such as when they have trouble controlling their emotional emotions [21] or act impulsively [22]. A maternal lack of self-control in family relationships may have an adverse effect on parent-child interactions through bad emotional and impulsive behaviors, which affect preschoolers' social competence. According to research, mindfulness can improve personal self-control by reducing the resources that are depleted by distraction [23]. Rowland et al.'s intervention study from 2019 also discovered that even brief mindfulness exercises were successful in raising people's levels of self-control [24]. Based on this, this study posits that a mediating factor for maternal trait mindfulness to affect early children's social competence is self-control.

2.3. The Relationship between Maternal Trait Mindfulness, Problematic Social Media Use, and Preschoolers' Social Competence

A growing number of women are using social media frequently and unconsciously while spending time with their children as a result of the popularity of social media. Undoubtedly, this is a worrying phenomenon. Li et al. (2022) found that parental screen addiction affects young children's screen addiction through both direct and indirect paths. Further research has found that women are more likely than men to engage in harmful social media habits that affect their own psychological and physical well-being, as well as their ability to interact with others [25,26,27,28]. When moms' requirements for social media use collide with their responsibilities as parents, they are more likely to experience negative feelings like anxiety and despair [8,29], which can affect how they interact with their children [30]. However, mothers with higher levels of mindfulness are acutely aware of their own emotional and behavioral issues and make timely self-adjustments to reduce impulsive reactions and avoid the negative effects of adverse parent-child interaction processes on preschoolers' social competence [12,31,32]. Research has shown that maternal emotional expressions can affect preschoolers' social competence, but mothers with higher levels of trait mindfulness are also more aware of their own emotional and behavioral problems. Based on the reality of social network context, this study suggests that maternal problematic social media use may serve as another mediating variable in the influence of maternal trait mindfulness on preschoolers' social competence.
According to attachment theory, maternal psychology and conduct have a significant influence on how well their children develop social competence. As important nurturers, maternal trait mindfulness may have an impact on preschoolers' social competence through their level of self-control and performance of problematic social media use. Research has shown that self-control negatively predicts problematic social media use behaviors [33]. In the context of the family, problematic social media use by mothers can also be viewed as a failure of self-control, as excessive social media use can significantly reduce the efficiency of face-to-face parent-child interactions and have a noticeable impact on the development of children's social competence. Based on these findings, the influence of maternal trait mindfulness on preschoolers' social competence is chain mediated by maternal self-control and problematic social media use.

This entry is adapted from the peer-reviewed paper 10.3390/bs13100805

References

  1. Schmeichel, B. J., Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F.; Intellectual performance and ego depletion: Role of the self in logical reasoning and other information processing.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003, 85(1), 33–46, .
  2. Havighurst, R.J. Developmental Tasks and Education, 3rd ed.; David McKay Company: New York, NY, USA, 1972.
  3. Shin, N.; Vaughn, B.E.; Kim, M.; Krzysik, L.; Bost, K.K.; McBride, B.; Santos, A.J.; Peceguina, I.; Coppola, G. Longitudinal Analyses of a Hierarchical Model of Peer Social Competence for Preschool Children: Structural Fidelity and External Correlates. Merrill-Palmer Q. 2011, 57, 73–103.
  4. Stepp, S.D.; Pardini, D.A.; Loeber, R.; Morris, N.A. The Relation between Adolescent Social Competence and Young Adult Delinquency and Educational Attainment among At-Risk Youth: The Mediating Role of Peer Delinquency. Can. J. Psychiatry 2011, 56, 457–465.
  5. Wang, Y.; Zhang, Y.; Zhang, M.; Li, Y. The Relationship between Maternal Mindfulness and Child Problem Behaviors:The Chain Mediating Effect of Mindful Parenting and Parent-Child Relationship. Psychol. Dev. Educ. 2023, 39, 184–191.
  6. Denham, S.A.; Renwick, S.M.; Holt, R.W. Working and Playing Together: Prediction of Preschool Social-Emotional Competence from Mother-Child Interaction. Child. Dev. 1991, 62, 242.
  7. Yang, X. From Automaticity to Consciousness: Habitual Mobile Phone Use and Its Relationship with Mindfulness. Doctoral Dissertation, Central China Normal University, Wuhan, China, 2021.
  8. Chen, B.; Zheng, X.; Sun, X. The Relationship between Problematic Social Media Use and Online Social Anxiety:The Roles of Social Media Cognitive Overload and Dispositional Mindfulness. Psychol. Dev. Educ. 2023, 39, 743–751.
  9. Kraut, R.; Patterson, M.; Lundmark, V.; Kiesler, S.; Mukopadhyay, T.; Scherlis, W. Internet Paradox: A Social Technology That Reduces Social Involvement and Psychological Well-Being? Am. Psychol. 1998, 53, 1017–1031.
  10. Brown, K.W.; Ryan, R.M. The Benefits of Being Present: Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 2003, 84, 822–848.
  11. Duncan, L.G.; Coatsworth, J.D.; Greenberg, M.T. A Model of Mindful Parenting: Implications for Parent–Child Relationships and Prevention Research. Clin. Child. Fam. Psychol. Rev. 2009, 12, 255–270.
  12. LI, Y.; He, T.; Yu, K.; Liu, P. The Relations Between Parental Coping with Children’s Negative Emotions and Children’s Social Skill and the Quality of Mood. Psychol. Sci. 2010, 33, 452–455.
  13. Wang, F.; Huang, Y. Psychological and Neural Mechanisms of Mindfulness. Adv. Psychol. Sci. 2011, 9, 1635–1644.
  14. Baumrind, D.; Larzelere, R.E.; Owens, E.B. Effects of Preschool Parents’ Power Assertive Patterns and Practices on Adolescent Development. Parenting 2010, 10, 157–201.
  15. Chen, S.; Cui, H.; Zhou, R.; Jia, Y. Revision of Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS). Chin. J. Clin. Psychol. 2012, 20, 148–151.
  16. Liu, Q.; Zhou, Z.; Yang, X.; Kong, F.; Sun, X.; Fan, C. Mindfulness and Sleep Quality in Adolescents: Analysis of Rumination as a Mediator and Self-Control as a Moderator. Personal. Individ. Differ. 2018, 122, 171–176.
  17. Tangney, J.P.; Baumeister, R.F.; Boone, A.L. High Self-Control Predicts Good Adjustment, Less Pathology, Better Grades, and Interpersonal Success. J. Pers. 2004, 72, 271–324.
  18. Ren, J.; Li, R.; Zhan, J.; Liu, D.; Lin, M.; Peng, N. Can Good People Commit Evil Acts? Evidence of Ego-depletion on Individuals’ Altruistic Behavior. Acta Psychol. Sin. 2014, 46, 841–851.
  19. Gailliot, M.T.; Baumeister, R.F. Self-Regulation and Sexual Restraint: Dispositionally and Temporarily Poor Self-Regulatory Abilities Contribute to Failures at Restraining Sexual Behavior. Pers. Soc. Psychol. Bull. 2007, 33, 173–186.
  20. Schmeichel, B.J.; Vohs, K.D.; Baumeister, R.F. Intellectual Performance and Ego Depletion: Role of the Self in Logical Reasoning and Other Information Processing. J. Pers. Soc. Psychol. 2003, 85, 33–46.
  21. Bishop, S.R.; Lau, M.; Shapiro, S.; Carlson, L.; Anderson, N.D.; Carmody, J.; Segal, Z.V.; Abbey, S.; Speca, M.; Velting, D.; et al. Mindfulness: A Proposed Operational Definition. Clin. Psychol. Sci. Pract. 2004, 11, 230–241.
  22. Rowland, Z.; Wenzel, M.; Kubiak, T. Effects of an Ultra-Brief Computer-Based Mindfulness Training on Mindfulness and Self-Control: A Randomised Controlled Trial Using a 40-Day Ecological Momentary Assessment. Mindfulness 2019, 10, 2312–2326.
  23. Chen, B.; Liu, F.; Ding, S.; Ying, X.; Wang, L.; Wen, Y. Gender Differences in Factors Associated with Smartphone Addiction: A Cross-Sectional Study among Medical College Students. BMC Psychiatry 2017, 17, 341.
  24. Arpaci, I. Relationships Between Early Maladaptive Schemas and Smartphone Addiction: The Moderating Role of Mindfulness. Int. J. Ment. Health Addict. 2019, 19, 778–792.
  25. Quan, H.; He, J.; Li, C. The Influence of Parental Mindfulness on Preschool Child Behavior Problems: A Chain-Mediated Model Analysis. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 812.
  26. Masur, P.K.; Reinecke, L.; Ziegele, M.; Quiring, O. The Interplay of Intrinsic Need Satisfaction and Facebook Specific Motives in Explaining Addictive Behavior on Facebook. Comput. Hum. Behav. 2014, 39, 376–386.
  27. Schmeichel, B. J., Vohs, K. D., & Baumeister, R. F.; Intellectual performance and ego depletion: Role of the self in logical reasoning and other information processing.. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003, 85(1), 33–46, .
More
© Text is available under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.
This entry is offline, you can click here to edit this entry!
Video Production Service
Feedback