Bashaoor Tarbiyat-e-Aulad Program for Reducing Parenting Stress

Parenting stress is a significant risk factor for impaired parent‐child relationships,reduced parental well‐being, and adverse behavioral and emotional outcomes in children.Although mindfulness‐based parenting interventions have demonstrated effectiveness inreducing parenting stress and improving family functioning in many countries, evidencefrom Pakistan has been limited, and existing parenting interventions have primarilyfocused on modifying child behavior rather than improving parental self‐regulation andmindful awareness.The present study evaluated the effectiveness of Bashaoor Tarbiyat‐e‐Aulad (BTA), aculturally adapted Urdu version of the Mindful Parenting Program originally developed byBögels and Restifo. Prior to the effectiveness trial, the intervention underwentsystematic translation, cultural adaptation, pilot testing, and refinement to ensurelinguistic, cultural, and religious appropriateness for Pakistani families. Adaptationsincluded translation into Urdu, incorporation of culturally relevant examples,integration of Islamic concepts and Quranic verses where appropriate, replacement of yogawith mindful body stretches, and modification of home practice activities.Study III employed a randomized controlled trial with a pretest‐posttest waitlist controldesign. Mothers of children aged 6‐11 years residing in Islamabad and Rawalpindi wererecruited from the community through social media and personal contacts. Eligibleparticipants were randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the waitlistcontrol group.The intervention consisted of nine structured group sessions designed to cultivatemindfulness in parenting, improve emotional awareness and regulation, increase parentalself‐compassion and competence, and reduce automatic and reactive parenting patterns.Participants in both groups completed standardized outcome measures at baseline andimmediately following the intervention.Primary outcomes included parenting stress, parenting competence, and mindful parenting.Secondary outcomes included self‐compassion, couple satisfaction, marital satisfaction,mental well‐being, dispositional mindfulness, and child behavioral and emotionalproblems. Statistical analyses included descriptive statistics, baseline equivalencetesting, repeated‐measures analysis of variance, and analyses adjusting for baselinedifferences to compare changes between the intervention and waitlist control groups.