The Relationship between perceived mindful parenting and positive youth development: the mediating effects of self-compassion and basic psychological needs satisfaction

Previous research has shown that mindful parenting is positively associated with the healthy development of adolescents. However, few studies have examined this phenomenon from the perspective of positive youth development. Based on the positive youth development framework and self-determination theory, this study sought to investigate the roles of self-compassion and basic psychological needs satisfaction in the association between mindful parenting and positive youth development. A total of 687 Chinese adolescents (339 boys, Mage = 14.43, SDage = 1.57) were recruited and invited to completed the Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire, Self-Compassion Scale for Youth, Basic Psychological Needs Scale, and Positive Youth Development Scale. A chain mediation model was proposed to test the relationships between the research variables. The structural equation model results indicate that self-compassion and satisfaction of basic psychological needs can mediate the relationship between mindful parenting and positive youth development both separately and through chain-like mediation. Furthermore, this model has invariance across gender and school segments. These findings suggest that mindful parenting may play an important role in the positive development of adolescents through self-compassion and basic psychological needs satisfaction.