CLINICAL QUESTION

Do mindfulness-enhanced parenting programs improve child-or parent-related outcomes in families with children with emotional and behavioral difficulties?

EVIDENCE-BASED ANSWER

When compared with no treatment, mindfulness-enhanced parent training programs result in a small improvement in parenting skills (standardized mean difference [SMD] = 0.22; 95% CI, 0.06 to 0.39) and a moderate decrease in parental depression or anxiety (SMD = −0.50; 95% CI, −0.96 to −0.04).¹ The addition of a mindfulness component to parent training programs decreases parenting stress compared with programs that do not include mindfulness (SMD = 0.51; 95% CI, −0.84 to −0.18). No studies reported on adverse effects.¹ (Strength of Recommendation: B, low-quality, patient-oriented evidence.) Uniform assessments for emotional and behavioral difficulties were lacking, interventions were heterogeneous, patients typically knew what treatment they received, and these interventions can be challenging to implement; thus, these conclusions may not yet change clinical practice.