“Be careful, it's dangerous out there”: Threat beliefs, anxiety, and mindfulness in overprotective parenting

Objective We examined whether parents' beliefs about the world as a threatening place are related to overprotective parenting, that is, parents' provision of excessive protection considering their child's developmental level. Background Overprotection may occur in a societal context of perceived threats. Although motivated by good intentions in such context, it is associated with negative outcomes in adolescents. Method In a sample of mothers and fathers of 320 adolescents, this questionnaire‐based study examined actor and partner effects in the association between threat beliefs and overprotective parenting, using actor–partner interdependence modeling, in association with parents' anxiety and mindfulness. Results Both actor effects (i.e., both maternal and paternal threat beliefs related positively to their overprotection) and partner effects (i.e., mothers' and fathers' overprotection related to their partner's beliefs, above and beyond their own beliefs) were identified. A higher level of anxiety was associated with more overprotection, whereas mindfulness predicted less overprotection. No partner effects were identified for anxiety or mindfulness. We found evidence for maternal anxiety moderating the relation between maternal threat beliefs and maternal overprotection. Conclusion Both parents' threat beliefs were associated with overprotective parenting and were mutually related. Anxiety and mindfulness were also related to overprotection. Implications This study provides insight for clinicians and parents into the role of threat beliefs for understanding overprotective parenting and the role of family dynamics, as well as individual‐level factors (i.e., anxiety and mindfulness).