The role of psychological flexibility, fear of compassion and parental behaviors in predicting parents' well-being

The parental behaviors during the growth and development period of children affect the child's personality structure, self-perception, and relationship with the environment. This study was conducted to understand the role of parents' behaviors and their levels of psychological flexibility and fear of compassion in predicting their well-being. Participants included 390 parents - 239 mothers and 151 fathers. Demographic Information Form, General Parenting Questionnaire - Short Form, Parental Psychological Flexibility Scale, Fear of Compassion Scale, and Mental Health Continuity Form were used as data collection tools. In the study, t-test for independent groups was used to compare the paired groups, Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the relationship between parental behaviors, psychological flexibility, fear of compassion, and well-being. In accordance with the main purpose of the study, the role of parental behaviors, psychological flexibility, and fear of compassion in predicting parents' well-being was tested with hierarchical regression analysis. The findings showed that among the sub-dimension of parental behaviors - warmth and psychological flexibility significantly predicted parent's well-being. These two variables explained 26% of the total variance. However, showing compassion to others and responding to compassion from others, which were sub-dimensions of fear of compassion, did not have a statistically significant contribution in predicting well-being. In addition, warmth was found to be a stronger predictor of well-being than psychological flexibility. The results of the study were discussed, and suggestions were made for future research and applications.