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Several authors argue that interpersonal changes such as benevolence, compassion, and empathy should naturally emerge from a diligent practice of mindfulness. While empirical data from secularized and standardized mindfulness interventions do not fully support this assumption, a group of authors suggest that making underlying Buddhist teachings explicit within mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) might be a key factor in the modification of such culturally rooted aspects of interpersonal functioning. In order to investigate this suggestion, we compared a mindfulness program that explicitly integrates elements of Buddhist ethics (i.e., the four immeasurables) and wisdom (i.e., interdependency, non-self, common humanity) (ethics-oriented mindfulness training (EMT)), to a standard mindfulness training (SMT) program and a control group (i.e., waiting list), with a randomized controlled design in a community sample. Empathy components (i.e., affective responding, mentalization, emotion regulation, and behavioral responding), as well as variables that are typically associated with MBIs (i.e., mindfulness, self-compassion, and well-being) were assessed using multi-dimensional measures (i.e., self-reported, behavioral, physiological). Results showed no overall effects on empathy of our interventions in comparison with our control group. With regard to other variables, we found specific effects for each of our interventions. Whereas SMT led to a stable increase in mindfulness (Cohen’s d = .7), EMT led instead to increases in self-compassion (Cohen’s d = .8) and subjective well-being (Cohen’s d= .54). Although challenging theoretical expectations, we posit that our lack of empathy effects might be explained by several factors such as program structure, individual differences, and culture.

To date, the field of emotion regulation (ER) has largely focused on intrinsic ER (i.e., regulation of one’s own emotions) and has only recently started to investigate extrinsic ER (i.e., regulation of another person’s emotions). This article selectively reviews current findings in order to answer the following questions: (a) What is extrinsic ER, and how can it be distinguished from related constructs such as emotion contagion, empathy, prosocial behavior, and social support? (b) How can we best model the processes through which extrinsic ER occurs as well as individual differences in extrinsic ER ability? The answers show that although extrinsic ER has much in common with intrinsic ER, the 2 cannot be equated. Research is therefore needed on the extrinsic side of ER.

The aim of the current paper was to investigate the influence of childbirth on parents' trait emotional intelligence (EI). A three-wave longitudinal research program (during the second trimester of pregnancy, at 6 months postpartum, and at 1 year postpartum) using the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model with a hierarchical linear modeling was conducted on 204 parental couples with parental group (i.e., primiparous and multiparous parents) as a time-invariant predictor and the partner's EI development as a time-varying covariate. Results showed that parents' EI was stable, except for Self-Control that increases after childbirth. Moreover, there was a significant negative association between the actor's and the partner's development around childbirth. Childbirth pushes parents to function in dyad rather than individually. Compensatory effects may be observed between both parents in terms of emotional management of parenting: When one partner cannot cope emotionally with parenting, the other partner would compensate and better manage the emotional aspects of parenting. The discussion underlined the importance of the dyadic perspective in understanding the childbirth experience, specifically the parents' receptivity to variation in their partners' emotional levels.

Parental burnout (PB)—a condition characterized by intense exhaustion related to parenting, emotional distancing from one's children, and a loss of parental fulfillment—has received increasing attention in recent years, even more since the worldwide COVID‐19 crisis and the confinement of parents with their children. This crisis put the spotlight on parents’ suffering, and the need to better understand parental burnout and how to best assess and treat it emerged as a priority. This brief article introduces the Thematic Issue of New Directions in Child and Adolescent Development focused on the measurement of parental burnout across various regions of the world. It briefly reviews the concept of parental burnout, its phenomenological experience, its etiology and consequences, and its measurement.

High levels of stress in the parenting domain can lead to parental burnout, a condition that has severe consequences for both parents and children. It is not yet clear, however, whether parental burnout varies by culture, and if so, why it might do so. In this study, we examined the prevalence of parental burnout in 42 countries (17,409 parents; 71% mothers; Mage= 39.20) and showed that the prevalence of parental burnout varies dramatically across countries. Analyses of cultural values revealed that individualistic cultures, in particular, displayed a noticeably higher prevalence and mean level of parental burnout. Indeed, individualism plays a larger role in parental burnout than either economic inequalities across countries, or any other individual and family characteristic examined so far, including the number and age of children and the number of hours spent with them. These results suggest that culturalvalues in Western countries may put parents under heightened levels of stress.