Maternal Dysphoric Mood, Stress, and Parenting Practices in Mothers of Head Start Preschoolers: The Role of Experiential Avoidance

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Maternal Dysphoric Mood, Stress,and Parenting Practices in Mothers ofHead Start Preschoolers: The Role ofExperiential AvoidanceSarah E. Shea MA a & Lisa W. Coyne PhD aa Department of Psychology , Suffolk University , Boston,Massachusetts, USAPublished online: 03 Aug 2011.

To cite this article: Sarah E. Shea MA & Lisa W. Coyne PhD (2011) Maternal Dysphoric Mood, Stress,and Parenting Practices in Mothers of Head Start Preschoolers: The Role of Experiential Avoidance,Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 33:3, 231-247, DOI: 10.1080/07317107.2011.596004

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Maternal Dysphoric Mood, Stress, andParenting Practices in Mothers of Head

Start Preschoolers: The Role of ExperientialAvoidance

SARAH E. SHEA, MA and LISA W. COYNE, PhDDepartment of Psychology, Suffolk University, Boston, Massachusetts, USA

Maternal dysphoria predicts behavioral difficulties in preschool-aged children, and may contribute to negative child outcomesby exacerbating parenting stress. Parenting stress increases thelikelihood of maladaptive parenting practices, especially whenmothers face multiple contextual stressors. We explored maternalexperiential avoidance (EA) as mechanism through which dys-phoria amplifies parenting stress. One hundred and forty-fourdiverse, low-income mothers of Head Start preschoolers partici-pated. Dysphoria, parenting stress, child behavior problems, andmaladaptive parenting were positively correlated with EA. Further,EA mediated the relationship between dysphoria and parentingstress. Finally, parenting stress was uniquely predictive of incon-sistent and punitive parenting practices.

KEYWORDS experiential avoidance, maternal depression,parenting stress

PRESCHOOLERS: THE ROLE OF EXPERIENTIAL AVOIDANCE

Maternal depression is a strong, well-established predictor of both internalizingand externalizing child behavioral problems (see Goodman & Gotlib, 2002, fora review). Even mild levels of maternal dysphoria have been shown to predictchild behavioral difficulties in preschool-aged children (West & Newman,2003). Young children may be especially susceptible to the effects of maternal

Received 5 February 2010; revised 16 April 2010; accepted 20 April 2010.Address correspondence to Lisa W. Coyne, PhD, Department of Psychology, Suffolk

University, 41 Temple Street, Boston, MA 02114, USA. E-mail: [email protected]

Child & Family Behavior Therapy, 33:231–247, 2011Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLCISSN: 0731-7107 print=1545-228X onlineDOI: 10.1080/07317107.2011.596004

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dysphoric mood, as much of their learning about emotional expression andregulation is derived from their parents.

Researchers have sought to identify potential mechanisms throughwhich maternal depressed mood may contribute to negative child outcomes.One such channel appears to be stress. Mothers who are depressed reporthigher levels of stress, which may stem from the greater social, marital, occu-pational, and financial challenges that so often accompany depression (seeGoodman & Gotlib, 2002). Elevations in dysphoria and stress may also beinfluenced by an interrelated constellation of sociodemographic risk factorssuch as poverty, lack of education, or early and single parenthood.

Depressed women are also more likely to experience stress specificallyabout their role as mothers (Leigh & Milgrom, 2008). Here, the term ‘‘parent-ing stress’’ is used to describe the distressing perception that the demands ofchild rearing are greater than the available resources with which to meetthem (Abidin, 1995). Like maternal dysphoria and depression, parentingstress has been linked with higher rates of disruptive and externalizingbehavior problems in toddlers and preschoolers (Leadbeater & Bishop,1994; Walker & Cheng, 2007), as well as later aggression, inattention anddelinquency (Barry, Dunlap, Cotton, Lockman, & Wells, 2005), and ‘‘opposi-tionality’’ (Podolski & Nigg, 2001) in school-aged children. It has also beenlinked to preschoolers’ internalizing behaviors such as anxiety, worry, andsadness (Hart & Kelley, 2006)—symptoms which tend to be stable intomiddle childhood and adolescence (Woodward & Fergusson, 2001).

Mounting data also support a strong association between parentingstress and the use of maladaptive parenting practices. For example, parentingstress has been associated with maternal intrusiveness and insensitivity

FIGURE 1 Standardized regression coefficients for the relationship between maternaldepressive symptoms and parenting stress as mediated by maternal experiential avoidance.Numbers in parentheses indicate standardized betas after mediation. A Sobel test found themediated effect was statistically significant (z¼ 2.935, p< .003).

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(Calkins, Hungerford, & Dedmon, 2004; Patterson, Reid & Dishion, 1992;Williford, Calkins, & Keane, 2007) and inconsistent discipline (Barry, Dunlap,Lochman & Wells, 2009). It has also been linked to heightened irritability,selective fixation on children’s deviant behaviors, and coercive disciplinaryresponses (Patterson et al., 1992). In turn, coercive discipline serves onlyto intensify children’s aggressive and oppositional counterattacks, entrench-ing both parties in a greater frequency of distressing interactions (Willifordet al., 2007). Indeed, one meta-analysis found that parenting stress signifi-cantly increases the probability that mothers will employ severe or evenabusive parenting tactics (Black, Heyman, & Slep, 2001). On the other hand,stressed parents’ sense of competency may be compromised, contributingto less assertiveness and more passivity in parenting (Cunningham &Boyle, 2002).

Researchers have also observed that mothers are more likely to rely onmaladaptive parenting techniques when faced with multiple contextual stres-sors. Many correlates of maladaptive parenting—such as poverty (Ceballo &McLoyd, 2002; Chaffin, Kelleher, & Hollenberg, 1996; Hashima & Amato,1994; Murry, Baker, & Lewin, 2000), young maternal age (Bolton, Laner &Kane, 1980; Bucholz & Korn-Bursztyn, 1993), marital conflict, divorce and sin-gle parenthood (Dorsey, Forehand, & Brody, 2007; Krishnakumar & Buehler,2000), parental psychiatric illness (Bugental & Happaney, 2004; Downey &Coyne, 1990; Meyers, 1999), medically or behaviorally challenging children(Baumrind, 1994), or parenting a large number of children (Chaffin et al.,1996; Hashima & Amato, 1994; Zuravin, 1988)—may compound mothers’distress over their parenting role. Furthermore, in cases of seriously impairedparenting, such as neglect and abuse, maternal depression and parenting stresshave often been implicated as risk factors (see Stith et al., 2009, for review). Inorder to design effective interventions that help relieve the experience ofparenting stress, especially among families who face multiple contextual riskfactors, it is important that researchers develop a clearer understanding ofthe mechanism through which dysphoric mood exacerbates parenting stress.It seems possible that individual psychological characteristics may mediatethe relationship between symptoms of dysphoria and level of stress. In parti-cular, these authors suggest that reliance on an avoidant emotion regulationstrategy, called experiential avoidance (EA), may represent one such factor.

Experiential Avoidance

EA is a deliberate strategy used to minimize or avoid private experiences,such as distressing thoughts, emotions, or bodily sensations, with which aperson is unwilling to be in contact (Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999). Whenupsetting events arise, attempts are made to circumvent or suppress thestimuli rather than accept and experience them. Although this may be aneffective tool in the short term, it may have unexpected deleterious effects.

Dysphoria, Parenting Stress, and Experiential Avoidance 233

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Data from the adult psychopathology literature suggest that suppression ofunwanted psychological experiences may inadvertently amplify them,especially when suppression is used over time (e.g., Hayes, Strosahl, &Wilson, 1999; Wells & Papageorgiou, 1995). Conceptually, there are severalreasons to suspect that EA may exacerbate parenting stress in the contextof maternal dysphoria, and thus indirectly contribute to chronically inconsist-ent and harsh parenting practices.

First, while reliance on EA may provide short-term relief from dysphoricmood and stress, it is highly problematic when used frequently over longstretches of time. EA is negatively reinforced because it can provide immediatereprieve from distressing thoughts or feelings. For example, when a parentencounters thoughts or emotions that cannot be tolerated or accepted, he orshe may achieve some short-lived escape by avoiding or diminishing the stimu-lus. However, emotion suppression requires a great amount of energy, and canbecome both draining and futile over time. Indeed, higher levels of EA appearto exacerbate symptoms of depression (Polusny, Rosenthal, Aban, & Follette,2004) and anxiety (Roemer & Orsillo, 2002). Likewise, a vast body of literaturehas demonstrated the paradoxical effects of thought suppression, dating backto the watershed ‘‘white bear’’ study (1987), suggesting that attempts to avoiddyshphoric cognitions about parenting in fact magnify such ideation (Wegner,Schneider, Carter, & White, 1987). Conversely, recent models suggest that‘‘mindful parenting,’’ or parenting characterized by consistent, deliberate,moment-to-moment awareness of ongoing interactions with one’s child inthe context of the parent-child relationship, may enhance effective, flexible par-enting strategies (Duncan, Coatsworth,&Greenberg, 2009). Taken together, thiswork suggests that emotion and thought avoidance is time consuming, contri-butes to the intensification of negative feelings and thoughts, and may diminishattention to relevant, ongoing elements of one’s external environment (e.g.,Coyne, Low, Miller, Seifer, & Dickstein, 2006; Hayes, Strosahl, & Wilson, 1999).

We suspect that mothers may engage in EA in two ways—intrinsically, bythought suppression (regulation of one’s own internal experiences), or extrin-sically, by situation modification (regulation of another’s behavior, or othersituational determinants that may give rise to unwanted maternal psychologi-cal experiences; e.g., Gross, 2007). To illustrate both intrinsic and extrinsic EA,imagine a commonplace scenario in which a preschooler throws a tantrum ina store when he is denied a desired toy. His mother may feel embarrassed andshamed by her child’s behavior, interpret the behavior as a reflection of herparenting competence, and thus engage in negative self-evaluations (e.g.,‘‘I’m a terrible parent.’’). In the initial throes of the tantrum, she may regulateher thoughts and emotions intrinsically with punitive self-talk, for example,telling herself, ‘‘Don’t think that you’re a terrible parent. What’s wrong withyou? A better parent could cope. ’’ The attempt to allay negative emotionand cognitions may strengthen her focus on them, as well as their negativevalence, thus potentially increasing her stress level.


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This mother may also attempt to control her psychological experiencesextrinsically, by engaging in parenting behaviors that may work in theshort-term to stop the tantrum. For example, she may acquiesce to her child’sdemands rather than sticking to her refusal to buy the toy, since it will ensurethe tantrum stops (lax, inconsistent parenting). Similarly, she may escalatethe intensity of her refusal, and yell, threaten, or even swat her child (harsh,punitive parenting), as this may intimidate her child into silence. Either ofthese responses stands to reinforce future tantrums. Additionally, since herattention has been captured by management of her negative thoughts andemotions, she may not be able to access, evaluate, and choose from abroader, more flexible (and perhaps more effective) array of parentingtechniques. In this way, experiential avoidance may compromise mothers’attention to ongoing, moment-to-moment interactions with their children,interfere with problem-solving, and in so doing, promote maladaptive par-enting choices. Moreover, over time, this recursive process may furtherexacerbate parenting stress, which likely perpetuates this cycle.

Building from this conceptual framework, maternal reliance on EA maybe especially problematic in the context of the multiple contextual risks con-ferred by poverty status, including maternal dysphoria. In general, people aremore likely to rely on EA when they lack adequate resources to regulate theiremotions in other ways (Chapman, Gratz, & Brown, 2006). Parents living inpovety may have fewer attentional and emotional resources upon which todraw when managing their children’s challenging behavior. Specifically theseparents may lack the material, social, and childcare supports needed to allevi-ate their stress, and thus may be at greater risk of reliance on avoidant emotionregulation strategies. Deater-Deckard, Sewell, Petrill, and Thompson (2010)posited that compromised ability to deploy attentional resources to regulateone’s emotions, specifically cognitive control, may be one mechanism bywhich the effects of poverty are linked to reactive parenting. They used work-ing memory as their index of cognitive control, and observed that motherswith poorer working memory engaged in harsher, more reactive parentingin response to their children’s challenging behaviors (Deater-Deckard et al.,2010). This trend may become more prominent as maternal dysphoriaincreases, as mothers experiencing symptoms of depression may intensifytheir attempts to avoid negative emotions and self-evaluations, thus furtherdiminishing their attentional resources (Coyne & Wilson, 2004). However,no studies to date have explored maternal stress, depression, maladaptiveparenting, and reliance on EA in high-risk samples of mothers. The currentwork seeks to ameliorate that knowledge gap.

The Present Study

We hypothesize that heightened and chronic levels of parenting stress maybe more damaging to parents and children when parents are unable to


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tolerate and manage these feelings. Parents’ inability to regulate the negativeemotions and thoughts that accompany chronic stress is thought to ultimatelyerode parents’ ability to be present, engaged, and flexible in challengingparenting situations.

The goal of the present study was to explore the potential relationshipbetween maternal dysphoria, parenting stress, EA, and risk factors for inef-fective parenting in a high-risk population. It was hypothesized that maternaldysphoria and parenting stress would positively correlate with EA. It wasfurther expected that parents who endorsed greater reliance on EA wouldalso report more child behavioral difficulties and greater use of punitiveand inconsistent parenting practices. We further hypothesized that EA wouldmediate the relationship between maternal dysphoria and parenting stress.Finally, we hypothesized that parenting stress would predict inconsistentand punitive parenting stress above and beyond parent mental health, EA,and child behavioral difficulties combined.

METHOD

Participants

Mothers (N¼ 144) of young children, ages 3- to 5-years-old, were recruitedfrom government-subsidized preschool and Head Start centers located inlow-income, urban communities. Head Start is a government-funded, nation-wide program aimed at promoting school readiness among children whoseparents’ income falls below the federal poverty level. The other preschoolprogram, likewise, endorsed similar programmatic goals. Mothers’ meanage was 32.01 (SD¼ 8.03). Thirty-one percent of the mothers identifiedthemselves as White, non-Hispanic, 42% as Black or African American,15% as Hispanic or Latino, 3% American Indian or Native Alaskan, 1% Asian,and 8% as multiracial or another race. Mothers’ median annual householdincome was $18,000. Married women accounted for 34.5% of the sample,whereas 42.8% had never married and 14.6% were separated or divorcedfrom their spouse. All subjects had obtained at least an eighth gradeeducation, and most (N¼ 127, 88.2%) had earned a high school diplomaor general education developmental certificate (GED). Twelve mothers(8.3%) reported clinically significant elevations in depression (as measuredby the depression subscale of the DASS-21).

At-Risk Status

Many participants reported multiple risk factors for impaired parenting. First,the median yearly household income of our participants was significantlylower than that observed in the state of Massachusetts, Mdn ¼ $53,657,t(118)¼�14.98, p< .001 (United States Census Bureau, n.d.). Additionally,


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nearly half of the mothers were unemployed (N¼ 64). Furthermore, manyparticipants also faced challenges associated with early parenthood: the aver-age age at which participants gave birth to their first child was 22.23(SD¼ 5.18), significantly younger than the average age of first-time mothersin Massachusetts, M¼ 27.8, t(134)¼�12.50, p< .001 (Centers for DiseaseControl, 2002). This carries implications for educational and occupationalattainment opportunities. Finally, women in this study also had, on average,significantly more children (M¼ 2.53) than is typical in the Massachusetts,M¼ 1.7; t(143)¼ 7.48, p< .001 (United States Census Bureau, n.d.), addingto their fiscal and care-giving responsibilities.

Design and Procedure

Participants were invited to complete a demographic survey, as well as fivestandardized questionnaires about their experiences as parents, afterdropping-off their child at preschool. Participation in this study wasvoluntary. Written consent was obtained from all participants. Question-naires required between 30 and 60 minutes to complete. Mothers received$10 as compensation for their time. Means, standard deviations, and rangesof all questionnaires used can be found in Table 1.

Demographics

Demographic data pertaining to age, ethnicity, marital status, employment,educational attainment, family size, living arrangements, and personal andfamilial history of psychopathology were collected through participant report.

Measure of Maternal Depression

Mothers completed the modified short version of the Depression and AnxietyStress Scales (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). The DASS-21 is a21-item, Likert-type self-report measure that yields depression, anxiety, andstress subscale scores. Researchers have established its strong internalconsistency and concurrent validity. In this sample, Cronbach’s a was .87.

TABLE 1 Descriptive Statistics for Parent and Child Variables (n¼ 75)

Range M (SD) Min Max

Maternal depressive symptoms 42 4.41 (6.63) 0 42Maternal experiential avoidance 45 31.51 (8.03) 9 54Parenting stress 106 72.35 (21.20) 36 142Child behavior problems 57 45.76 (11.82) 28 85Inconsistent parenting practices 21 13.2 (4.48) 7 30Punitive parenting practices 20 7.53 (2.79) 5 25


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We used depression subscale scores to measure maternal dysphoria in theseanalyses.

Measure of Children’s Behavior Problems

Mothers completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL=112� 5; Achenbach &Rescorla, 2000). This measure is widely used across both educational andclinical settings and has well-established reliability. The CBCL=112� 5 wasnormed for use with children ages 1.5 to 5 years. The measure consists of112 items that are rated on a Likert-type scale ranging from 0 (Not True) to2 (Very True or Often True). The measure provides information on children’semotional, behavioral, and adaptive functioning. Adequate internal consist-ency, construct validity, and criterion validity have been found for the CBCLacross samples similar to our demographic (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000).We used the Total Problems score as our index of child behavior problems.

Measure of Maternal Stress

Mothers completed the modified short version of the Parenting Stress Index(PSI-SF; Abidin, 1995). The measure includes 36 items that measure a parent’sperception of stress in relation to child-rearing. The measure provides scoresacross three domains—parental distress, parent-child dysfunctional interac-tion, and difficult child—as well as a total stress score. In addition, a defens-ive responding subscale is included to help detect biased responding.Cronbach’s a was .94 for this sample. We used the Total Stress score as abroad index of parenting stress.

Measure of Maternal Parenting Style

Mothers completed the Alabama Parenting Questionnaire-Preschool Revision(APQ-PR; Shelton, Frick, & Wootton, 1996). The APQ-PR is a 42-item mea-sure of parenting characteristics. For the purposes of this study, researchersexamined the punitive and inconsistent parenting practices subscales asour index of maladaptive parenting behavior. Research suggests that thismeasure has good internal consistency and temporal stability. Cronbach’s afor the punitive subscale was .77 for this sample. For the inconsistent parent-ing subscale, Cronbach’s a was .75 for this sample.

Measures of Maternal Reliance on Experiential Avoidance

Mothers completed the Acceptance & Action (AAQ; Hayes et al., 2004), aLikert-type self-report index of emotional avoidance and emotion-focusedinaction. Examiners included 18 items. High scores correspond to highexperiential avoidance, whereas low scores reflect acceptance and action.


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Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses reveal that the AAQ hasadequate internal consistency. Furthermore, studies employing clinical andnonclinical samples have demonstrated adequate convergent, discriminant,and concurrent validity. Cronbach’s a was .58 in this sample. We used theAAQ Total Score as our measure of experiential avoidance.

RESULTS

Data Screening

Questionnaire data were examined to identify missing values and outliers,and to ensure consistency with the assumptions of multivariate analysis.Any missing items on questionnaire subscales were replaced with the sub-ject’s mean score for that subscale. This technique offers a robust approachto the replacement of missing data, as replacement scores were generatedon the basis of individuals’ existing data. This helps preserve true differencesacross participants (Roth, Switzer, & Switzer, 1999). There were two cases inwhich questionnaires were left blank, and therefore missing data could notbe replaced (two subjects neglected the PSI-SF.) Additionally, two differentsubjects also endorsed all zero values on the CBCL, invalidating the measure.These four cases were excluded from all analyses.

Variable distributions were examined for significant skewness andkurtosis. Anxiety and depression were positively skewed. However, outliersappeared to be obtained scores and not errors. Because these scores likelyindicate cases of clinically significant anxiety and depression within thecommunity sample, they were retained to maintain the variance of thedistribution.

Researchers also explored the relationship between known demo-graphic risk factors and the outcome variables of interest. In general, the riskfactors assessed as part of this study (age, age at first-time motherhood,marital status, annual income, employment status, education level, and num-ber of children) were not related to outcome measures such as depression,child behavior problems, or parenting practices. However, small correlationswere observed between experiential avoidance (AAQ) and education level(.27), number of children (r ¼�.22), and yearly income (r ¼�.25). Likewise,a small correlation was observed between parenting stress (PSI) and edu-cation level (.18). These variables were not included as covariates becausetheir effect sizes were quite small, and more importantly, because the presentstudy aims to explore mothers’ experience in context.

Correlational Analysis

Correlational analyses were conducted to identify possible relationshipsbetween variables. As predicted, significant two-tailed correlations were


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observed between experiential avoidance and total parenting stress (r¼ .46,p< .001) and depression (r¼ .32, p< .001). Furthermore, experiential avoid-ance was also significantly correlated with child behavior difficulties (r¼ .29,p< .001), as well as punitive (r¼ .18, p< .03) and inconsistent (r¼ .24,p< .001) parenting styles. Correlations between variables of interest arepresented in Table 2.

Experiential Avoidance as a Mediator Between Maternal Dysphoriaand Parenting Stress

To explore the effect of EA on the relationship between maternal dysphoriaand parenting stress, Baron and Kenny’s (1986) model for mediation was uti-lized. Criteria were met for full mediation. Specifically, maternal depressivesymptoms significantly predicted parenting stress, b¼ .46, p< .001, F(1,139)¼ 36.70, p< .001, providing significant support for the first criterion.Providing support for the second criterion of the model, maternal depressivesymptoms significantly predicted EA scores, b¼ .32, p <, F(1, 141)¼ 16.22,p< .001. Moreover, EA (the mediating variable) significantly predicted par-enting stress, b¼ .46, p< .001, F(2, 140)¼ 36.54, p< .001, providing supportfor the third criterion of the model. Finally, the predictive ability of the inde-pendent variable was diminished, after controlling for the effects of maternalEA, b¼ .33, p< .001, F(2, 138)¼ 29.70, p< .001. A Sobel test using unstandar-dized regression coefficients reached significance (z¼ 2.935, p< .003). Theseresults indicate that parental EA mediated the relationship between maternaldepressive symptoms and parenting stress.

Multivariate Analyses

Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were employed to determine ifparenting stress would predict inconsistent and punitive parenting overand above other known indices; namely, maternal depression, EA, and childbehavior problems. With regard to inconsistent parenting, depression, EA,and child behavior problem total scores were entered in the first step of

TABLE 2 Intercorrelations Between Variables of Interest (N¼ 144)

Measure 1 2 3 4 5

1. Maternal depressive symptoms –2. Maternal experiential avoidance .32�� –3. Parenting stress .46�� .46�� –4. Child behavior problems .19� .29�� .50�� –5. Inconsistent parenting practices .28�� .24�� .51�� .27�� –6. Punitive parenting practices .26�� .18� .43�� .32�� .44��

�p< .05. ��p< .01.


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the model. Parenting stress was entered in the second step to determine if itaccounted for unique variance in the prediction of inconsistent parenting.The model was comprised of DASS-21 depression subscale scores (b¼ .01,p¼ .9), CBCL total scores (b¼ .02, p¼ .82), AAQ total scores (b¼ .09,p¼ .3), and scores from the PSI-SF (b¼ .47, p< .001, R¼ .43, R2¼ .27,adjusted R2¼ .25). The model was a significant predictor of inconsistentparenting, F(4, 137)¼ 12.29, p< .001. Parenting stress accounted for 12.5%of unique variance in inconsistent parenting.

An identical model was employed to determine if parenting stresspredicted punitive parenting over and above depression, child behavior pro-blems, and EA. The model was comprised of DASS-21 depression subscalescores (b¼ .05, p¼ .58), CBCL total scores (b¼ .13, p¼ .146), AAQ totalscores (b¼ .00, p¼ .91), and scores from the PSI-SF (b¼ .36, p< .001;R¼ .46, R2¼ .21, adjusted R2¼ .18). The model was a significant predictor,F(4, 137)¼ 12.24, p< .001. Parenting stress accounted for 7.2% of uniquevariance in punitive parenting.

DISCUSSION

The present study examined the relationship between maternal dysphoria,parenting stress, and EA, exploring implications for child behavioralproblems and maladaptive parenting practices. We chose to study thesevariables in the context of a high-risk, community sample of parents ofpreschool-aged children, in order to better understand the experiences andneeds of these historically underserved families. Indeed, economically disad-vantaged families are the most likely to have children with early onset andpersistent behavior problems, symptoms of which may escalate in ado-lescence (Farrington, 1994; Moffitt, 1993; Patterson & Yoerger, 1993). Further,meta-analyses reveal that the gold-standard, empirically-based behavioralparent-training programs—employed to address maladaptive parentingpractices and spur positive child behavior change—are least effective amongfamilies facing socioeconomic disadvantage, low educational and occupationattainment, single parenthood, and maternal mental health challenges(Lundahl, Risser, & Lovejoy, 2006; Reyno & McGrath, 2006). In other words,the families most in need in treatment are the least likely to benefit fromthem. It is essential, then, that we learn more about the factors that contributeto impaired parenting in the context of multiply-stressed families, includingobstacles that impede the learning and use of more effective strategies.

As a preliminary step toward the development of improved screeningand treatment, a clearer characterization of the mechanisms underlying therelationship between dysphoria, parenting stress, and child behavior pro-blems is needed. Given our finding that parenting stress predicts inconsistentand punitive parenting above and beyond known predictors (accounting for


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12.5% and 7.2% of variance, respectively), it is very important to understandwho is most at risk for parenting stress and how we can ameliorate this risk.The present study explored the possibility that EA may play a role in deter-mining why some dysphoric mothers experience their parenting role asbeing very stressful, while others do not.

The results of this study reveal a positive relationship between levels ofdysphoria, parenting stress, child behavioral problems, and EA. Indeed, ourfindings suggest that EA mediates the relationship between dysphoria andparenting stress. This is to say that mothers who not only experience symp-toms of depression, but who also look to EA to regulate these experiences,are at the highest risk for parenting stress. Heavy reliance on EA, therefore,appears to be a key consideration in determining risk for parenting stress.

Likewise, given the very strong relationship between parenting stressand self-reported maladaptive parenting, it stands to reason that parentswho rely on avoidant emotional regulatory strategies may indirectly becomemore susceptible to ineffective parenting choices. Mothers more reliant onexperiential avoidance as an emotion regulatory strategy may be moreuncomfortable or unwilling to be in contact with their emotions, whichserves to further dysregulate their emotion and amplify stress. For example,a stressed and depressed mother might respond punitively to her child’smildly aversive behavior, or might ignore more serious child transgressionsaltogether if calmly confronting the behavior is deemed too stressful or pain-ful. In this sense, EA may compromise parents’ ability to engage children,and use discipline consistently and fairly. This is concerning, as harsh, over-active, and inconsistent disciplinary styles have been linked to child behaviorproblems (Lorber, O’Leary, & Kendziora, 2003).

The impact of mothers’ avoidant emotion regulation style may be parti-cularly influential for children during the preschool years. Young childrenrequire engaged and responsive parenting in order to achieve emotionaland behavioral self-regulation (Baumrind, 1994). They also look to their par-ents to learn how to respond to and regulate their own negative emotions.Depressed, highly stressed, avoidant mothers may be unable to tolerate thenegative emotions of their child. Consequently, parents may miss out onopportunities to teach children how to copewith and communicate about theirfeelings effectively. Instead, childrenmay ultimately emulate their mothers’ EA.In the long term, strengthening mothers’ acceptant coping strategies may notonly lead to improvements in mood and parenting style, but could also helpchildren develop healthier, more adaptive emotion regulation strategies.

Limitations and Future Directions

Results from this study implicate EA as an important contributor to parentingstress and, indirectly, to maladaptive parenting practices. It is nonethelessimportant to highlight limitations of the findings and explore directions for


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future research. First, our measure of experiential avoidance had only fairinternal consistency in this sample. This may be due in part to level of itemreading difficulty, or the lack of salience this construct may have for indivi-duals in contexts of multiple risks. Thus, our findings must be interpretedwith caution, given the potential for error variance in our results regardingthis variable. As there are no other measures at this time that capture thisconstruct, future work should address how to improve this measure foruse in diverse, high-risk populations. Second, this study was based exclus-ively on maternal self-report data. While only a small percentage of our sam-ple endorsed clinical elevations in depressive symptoms, depressed mothershave been shown to provide mood-consistent ratings about their childrenand parenting (De Los Reyes & Kazdin, 2005; Richters, 1992). Attempts toreplicate these findings using multiple methods of measurement, such asobservation and other informant report, are therefore needed to rule outpossible maternal bias. Furthermore, these data are correlational, limitingour ability to draw inferences about directionality and causality. Our dataare also cross-sectional, thus these findings would be strengthened by repli-cation through longitudinal research.

Future research should also explore the potential effectiveness ofaugmenting currently available parent training programs with interventionsaimed at promoting acceptance over avoidance, such as mindfulness- oracceptance-based treatments. This may be particularly relevant for mothersliving in the context of high-risk, urban settings, whose chronic, broadbandstressors (poverty, community violence, etc.) may not be easily assuagedthrough other mainstay treatments (e.g., Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy,Interpersonal Psychotherapy). Indeed, despite the wealth of evidence sup-porting the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral therapy in addressingdepression, there are far less data supporting the utility of these treatmentsin treating socio-economically disadvantaged and minority populations(Falconnier & Elkin, 2008). It is possible that adding a treatment componentthat addresses chronic stress through the lens of EA may offer importantbenefits when it comes to reducing mothers’ perceptions of parenting asunmanageable. Likewise, decreasing mothers’ avoidance could conceivablyfree up valuable emotional and cognitive resources, allowing them to bettertolerate treatment in the short-term, and access a wider, more flexible, andmore effective range of parenting strategies in the long run.

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Documents

Maternal Dysphoric Mood, Stress, and Parenting Practices in Mothers of Head Start Preschoolers: The Role of Experiential Avoidance