Salutary proximal processes and distal mood and anxiety vulnerability outcomes of mindfulness training: a pilot preventive intervention.
Study Goal
The researchers aimed to evaluate the effects of a brief mindfulness-based intervention on mindfulness levels, proximal psychological processes (e.g., decentering, experiential avoidance), and distal mood/anxiety vulnerability factors.
Results Summary
The study found statistically robust and clinically significant relationships between mindfulness and both proximal (e.g., reduced experiential avoidance) and distal (e.g., reduced negative affectivity) psychological factors. The intervention demonstrated meaningful effects on mood and anxiety vulnerability.
Population
University-community adults in Israel (ages 20-52, 65.4% women).
Effective Dosage
Not specified (four-session intervention).
Duration
21 days.
Interactions
None mentioned.
| Intervention | Direction | Endpoint | Population | Dosage | Impact | Claim # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
brief mindfulness-based preventive intervention | increase | dispositional mindfulness | university-community sample in Israel | - | increased | #1 |
brief mindfulness-based preventive intervention | increase | state mindfulness | university-community sample in Israel | - | increased | #2 |
brief mindfulness-based preventive intervention | increase | decentering | university-community sample in Israel | - | increased | #3 |
brief mindfulness-based preventive intervention | decrease | experiential avoidance | university-community sample in Israel | - | reduced | #4 |
brief mindfulness-based preventive intervention | decrease | depression-related dysfunctional attitudes | university-community sample in Israel | - | reduced | #5 |
brief mindfulness-based preventive intervention | decrease | anxiety sensitivity | university-community sample in Israel | - | reduced | #6 |
brief mindfulness-based preventive intervention | decrease | negative affectivity | university-community sample in Israel | - | reduced | #7 |
The present study evaluated the effect of a brief mindfulness-based preventive intervention on (a) dispositional (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) and state (SMS; Tanay & Bernstein, 2010) mindfulness; (b) putative proximal factors/processes engendered through the development of mindfulness, including increased decentering (EQ-D; Fresco et al., 2007) and reduced experiential avoidance (AAQ; Hayes et al., 2004); and (c) distal mood and anxiety vulnerability factors, including reduced depression-related dysfunctional attitudes, (DAS; de Graaf, Roelofs, & Huibers, 2009), anxiety sensitivity (ASI-3; Taylor et al., 2007), and negative affectivity (PANAS-NA; Watson, Clark, & Tellegen, 1988) among a university-community sample in Israel. Fifty-three adult participants between the ages of 20 and 52 (M(age)=25.2 years, SD(age)=4.3 years; 65.4% women) were recruited from the Haifa University community. Nineteen participants were randomly assigned to an experimental condition (M(age)=25.3 years, SD(age)=4.3 years; 66% women) and studied prospectively over the course of a four-session (21-day) mindfulness skills training intervention; and 34 participants were randomly assigned to a no-intervention (control) condition (M(age)=24.9 years, SD(age)=2.4years; 64.7% women) and studied prospectively. Findings demonstrate statistically robust and clinically significant relations between mindfulness and the theorized proximal and distal mood and anxiety vulnerability factors. Findings are discussed with respect to their theoretical implications for better understanding mindfulness-psychopathology vulnerability relations, clinical implications for larger-scale universal and selective transdiagnostic prevention efforts, and future directions for this area of research.