This study aimed to explore the role of psychological flexibility within parenting in the relationship between parenting stress and parenting styles (authoritative, authoritarian and permissive) in mothers of early and middle-aged children, as well as the moderator role of global psychological flexibility. The sample comprised 250 mothers of children between 2 and 12 years old, recruited online and in-person, who answered to self-report questionnaires assessing anxiety/depression symptoms, parenting stress, psychological flexibility within parenting, global psychological flexibility and parenting styles. The mediating model presented a very good fit for the data (CFI = 0.95, RMSEA = 0.07, 90% CI = 0.046/0.094) and has shown to be invariant across mothers of different age groups. Direct and indirect effects were found, with parenting stress affecting parenting styles directly, and indirectly, through psychological flexibility within parenting. The lower levels of psychological flexibility within parenting were translated into lower use of authoritative parenting style and into a higher use of authoritarian or permissive styles of parenting. Also, multigroup analyses showed that the model was variant as a function of global psychological flexibility (Δχ²₍₁₀₎ = 138.09, p < .001) supporting the buffer effect of global psychological flexibility in these relationships. Our results are innovative by highlighting the important role of psychological flexibility within parenting as a self-regulatory skill in the mother-child relationship, as it influences the mothers' ability to regulate their emotions and behavior in a way that promotes a sensitive response to the child's needs and good parenting practices, even in the presence of stressful demands (parenting stress).

这项研究旨在探讨心理弹性在育儿中的作用，在早中年儿童的母亲的父母压力与父母教养方式（权威，专制和宽容）之间的关系中，以及全球心理柔韧性的调节作用。该样本包括250名2至12岁儿童的母亲，他们是在网上和亲自招募的，他们回答了自我报告调查问卷，评估了焦虑/抑郁症状，养育父母的压力，养育子女的心理柔韧性，整体心理柔韧性和养育方式。中介模型显示出非常适合数据的数据（CFI = 0.95，RMSEA = 0.07，90％CI = 0.046 / 0.094），并且在不同年龄组的母亲中均显示为不变。发现了直接和间接的影响，养育压力直接或间接地通过养育子女的心理灵活性影响养育方式。育儿过程中较低的心理柔韧性被转化为对权威性育儿方式的较少使用以及对专制或宽容型育儿方式的较高使用。此外，多组分析表明，该模型是全球心理柔韧性（Δχ² _（10）  = 138.09，p  <.001）支持这些关系中全局心理灵活性的缓冲效应。我们的研究结果具有创新性，突出了养育中的心理灵活性在母子关系中作为一种自我调节技能的重要作用，因为它影响母亲调节情绪和行为的能力，从而促进对孩子的敏感反应。即使在有压力要求（父母压力）的情况下，孩子的需求和良好的养育方式也应如此。