Parenting in today’s world presents mothers with numerous role demands, societal expectations, and heightened stress, which can negatively impact the quality of interactions with their children. This study explores a mediation model outlining how gratitude influences the connection between the quality of the mother-child relationship and mindful parenting. A quantitative cross-sectional design was utilized, involving 257 mothers selected through purposive sampling based on criteria such as living with their children and being actively engaged in caregiving. Data were gathered using the Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ), Gratitude Questionnaire (GQ-6), and Child-Parent Relationship Scale (CPRS), all of which underwent adaptation and psychometric validation. Mediation analysis was performed to evaluate the proposed model. The findings showed that the quality of the mother-child relationship did not exert a significant direct effect on mindful parenting; however, it did have a notable indirect effect through gratitude, which acted as a complete mediator (β = 0.162, p < 0.001). These results indicate that gratitude serves as a psychological mechanism that translates relational experiences into more mindful, reflective, and adaptive parenting practices. This study advances theory by strengthening the mindful parenting framework within positive psychology and offers practical implications for designing parenting interventions that foster gratitude among mothers in contemporary society.
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