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

Maternal dysphoria predicts behavioral difficulties in preschool-aged children, and may contribute to negative child outcomes by exacerbating parenting stress. Parenting stress increases the likelihood of maladaptive parenting practices, especially when mothers face multiple contextual stressors. We explored maternal experiential avoidance (EA) as mechanism through which dysphoria amplifies parenting stress. One hundred and forty-four diverse, low-income mothers of Head Start preschoolers participated. Dysphoria, parenting stress, child behavior problems, and maladaptive parenting were positively correlated with EA. Further, EA mediated the relationship between dysphoria and parenting stress. Finally, parenting stress was uniquely predictive of inconsistent and punitive parenting practices.