Abstract
Objectives: Better subjective and eudaimonic well-being fosters better health conditions. Several studies have confirmed that mindfulness-based interventions are effective for improving well-being; however, the samples examined in these studies have been limited to specific populations, and the studies only measured certain aspects of well-being rather than the entire construct. Additionally, few studies have examined the effect of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on well-being. The present study examines the feasibility of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and its effectiveness for improving subjective and eudaimonic well-being among community residents.Methods: The study design featured an 8-week randomized, waiting-list controlled, parallel-group study. 8 weekly mindfulness classes, followed by 2 monthly classes, were provided for healthy individuals aged 20–65 years who had a Satisfaction with Life Scale score of ≤ 24 indicating average to low cognitive aspect of subjective well-being. This trial was registered with the University Hospital Medical Information Network Clinical Trials Registry (ID: UMIN000031885, URL: https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000036376).Results: The results showed that cognitive aspect of subjective well-being and mindfulness skills were significantly improved at 8 weeks, and this effect was enhanced up to the end of the follow-up period. Positive affective aspect of subjective and eudaimonic well-being were significantly improved at 16 weeks.Conclusions: Eight weeks of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy with a 2-month follow-up period improves cognitive and affective aspects of subjective and eudaimonic well-being in healthy individuals. The order of improvement was cognitive, positive affective, and eudaimonic well-being. To verify these findings, multi-center randomized controlled trials with active control groups and longer follow-up periods are warranted.
Highlights
Research on well-being has been gaining increasing academic attention recently. (Ryff, 2014; Diener et al, 2018)
Despite the confirmed effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on wellbeing (Khoury et al, 2015), the evidence of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), another major mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) (Segal et al, 2002), on well-being is sparse. Considering these limitations, our study aims to perform a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of MBCT in improving the cognitive and affective aspects of subjective and eudaimonic wellbeing among healthy people enrolled from a community sample
This study began recruiting participants in July 2018 and final data collection was completed in December 2019
Summary
Research on well-being has been gaining increasing academic attention recently. (Ryff, 2014; Diener et al, 2018). SWB represents a global assessment of how a person evaluates his or her own life and experiences (Diener, 1984). Two aspects of SWB have been identified, namely, life evaluation, and affect (OECD, 2013; Diener et al, 2018). Life evaluation relates to the cognitive aspect of SWB, and represents a person’s satisfaction with their life (Diener et al, 1985). The cognitive and affective aspects of SWB and eudaimonic wellbeing are mildly correlated, but are clearly distinguishable from one another (Keyes et al, 2002; OECD, 2013; Diener et al, 2018). When measuring an individual’s well-being, taking into account both SWB and eudaimonic well-being can provide a comprehensive snapshot of their well-being (OECD, 2013)
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