The Role of Self-Compassion on Parenting Stress in Mothers of Early Childhood Children: Systematic Literature Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59141/jiss.v7i3.2235Keywords:
Parenting Stress, Mothers of Young Children, Self-CompassionAbstract
Background: Self-compassion plays an important role in reducing levels of parenting stress among mothers of young children. Purpose: This systematic review aims to identify the negative relationship between self-compassion and parenting stress, indicating that mothers with higher levels of self-compassion tend to experience lower levels of parenting stress. Method: The PRISMA method was applied through searches of electronic databases, including Google Scholar, APA PsycNET, Springer, and Elsevier. Of the identified articles, 11 journals met the inclusion criteria after undergoing a rigorous selection process. Result: Based on the results of the systematic literature review of various empirical studies, self-compassion plays a significant role in reducing parenting stress among mothers of young children. Early childhood is a developmental phase that requires high levels of attention, emotional involvement, and physical energy from mothers. Conclusion: These conditions often trigger psychological pressure, particularly when mothers face limited personal resources, multiple role demands, and high social expectations regarding motherhood.
References
Aisha, D., Rahayu, P., Rahman, U., Mardia, E., & Pratiwi, K. (2023). Gambaran parental stress pada ibu di Kabupaten Karawang. Psychopedia, 8(2), 1–9.
Akmalia, N. (2021). Parenting stress pada ibu yang bekerja: Peran self-compassion dan dukungan sosial. Jurnal Ilmu Perilaku, 5, 111–122.
Clemente-Suárez, V. J., Beltrán-Velasco, A. I., Herrero-Roldán, S., Rodriguez-Besteiro, S., Martínez-Guardado, I., Martín-Rodríguez, A., & Tornero-Aguilera, J. F. (2024). Digital device usage and childhood cognitive development: Exploring effects on cognitive abilities. Children, 11(11), 1299.
Fadillah, A. O., Pranungsari, D., Psikologi, F., Ahmad, U., Stress, P., & Training, M. (2023). Parent stress management training untuk menurunkan stres pengasuhan pada ibu yang memiliki anak usia sekolah dasar. Jurnal Psikologi Malahayati, 5(2), 337–349.
Han, S. H. (2023). Revisiting the caregiver stress process: Does family caregiving really lead to worse mental health outcomes? Advances in Life Course Research, 58, 100579.
Hasiana, I., Muda, I., & Dini, A. U. (2024). Gambaran parenting stress pada ibu yang menikah di usia muda terhadap perilaku kekerasan pada anak usia dini. Indonesian Journal of Early Childhood: Jurnal Dunia Anak Usia Dini, 6, 123–129.
Hasni, N. (2024). Parenting self-efficacy sebagai moderator dalam hubungan mindful parenting dan stres pengasuhan pada ibu yang memiliki anak usia dini. Psychological Journal Science and Practice. https://doi.org/10.22219/pjsp.v4i2.36265
Indrawati, T. (2020). Efektivitas program positive parenting dalam mengurangi stres pengasuhan pada ibu muda. Al Athfaal: Jurnal Ilmiah Pendidikan Anak Usia Dini, 3(2), 201–215.
Mayra, Z., Maulana, M. N., & Kushendar, K. (2022). The effect of emotional social development on physical motor development in early childhood. Journal of Childhood Development, 2(2), 64–70.
Riany, Y. E., & Ihsana, A. (2021). Parenting stress, social support, self-compassion, and parenting practices among mothers of children with ASD and ADHD. Psikohumaniora: Jurnal Penelitian Psikologi, 6(1), 47–60.
Rizky, M. S., Latipah, E., Naura, A. A., Haq, M. A., & Shiddiq, B. A. (2025). An examination of student development: The psychological, physical, cognitive, socio-emotional, sexual, and language dimensions. Linguanusa: Social Humanities, Education and Linguistic, 3(2), 126–138.
Roslan, F., Selvam, L., Pandian, T., Bin, M. N., Rahman, A., & Motevalli, S. (2022). A systematic review on physical, cognitive, and social-emotional development of pre-schoolers. International Journal of Academic Research in Progressive Education and Development, 11(2), 1–15.
Suryana, D., Tika, R., & Wardani, E. K. (2022). Management of creative early childhood education environment in increasing golden age creativity. In 6th International Conference of Early Childhood Education (ICECE-6 2021) (pp. 17–20).
van der Lubbe, A., Swaab, H., Vermeiren, R., van Rossum, E. F. C., Van Balkom, I. D. C., & Ester, W. A. (2025). Chronic parenting stress in parents of children with autism: Associations with chronic stress in their child and parental mental and physical health. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1–15.
Wang, Q., Wang, X., & Li, R. (2026). Rethinking sustainability: Human development and ecological footprint under deglobalization pressures. Sustainable Development, 34, 1524–1557.
Zajdel, M., Swan, T., Robinson, T., Keller, K. R., Mountcastle, L., & Koehly, L. M. (2023). Stress, coping, and physical health in caregiving. Translational Issues in Psychological Science, 9(2), 123.
Zeng, S., Yuan, L., Lee, Y., Guan, Y., Volk, K., O’Riordan, M., & Stone-MacDonald, A. K. (2023). Parental stress in raising a child with mental health and behavior problems. In Handbook of Clinical Child Psychology: Integrating Theory and Research into Practice (pp. 137–154).
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Renaldi Ointu, Nida Hasanati

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International. that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work.




