Abstract
Background/ObjectiveThe present research investigated potential effects of mindfulness training on emotion regulation and mood of future schoolteachers in a nonrandomized pre–post design, and whether these are influenced by the yoga component of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) and/or by homework practice.Method N = 169 university students received either mindfulness training (experimental groups), awareness activities (active control group), or no training (passive control group), in the context of university seminars. Allocation to groups was bound by the seminar chosen by participants, and in that sense was self‐selected. Mindfulness was trained in two adapted MBSR courses, one of which including yoga, and the other excluding yoga.ResultsSpecific benefits of both mindfulness training groups were observed for emotion regulation in terms of an increase in cognitive reappraisal and a reduction in symptom‐focused rumination as well as depressive mood. No benefits of mindfulness training were observed for reductions in expressive suppression, self‐focused rumination, anxious, and negative mood or an increase in distraction and positive mood respectively. Mindfulness training with and without yoga was mostly equally effective. Outcomes were largely not moderated by practice quantity or quality, but reductions in depressive mood were mediated by gains in reappraisal and distraction.ConclusionsMindfulness training can be implemented in the context of university seminars to foster advantageous emotion regulation strategies and lower depressive mood in future schoolteachers. Discontinuing yoga within mindfulness interventions does not seem to reduce training benefits.
Highlights
Emotion regulation (ER), defined as “attempts individuals make to influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how these emotions are experienced and expressed” (Gross, Richards, & John, 2006, p. 14), is an inherent part of everyday life
Advantageous effects on ER have been observed for both mindfulness‐based interventions and yoga as a stand‐alone treatment (Menezes et al, 2015), they can be expected to be stronger for mindfulness training than yoga: Mindfulness training is primarily a mental activity, which is ex‐ panded by a movement component in yoga (Schmalzl et al, 2015), so that part of the mental resources consumed during yoga need to be spent on correct execution of positions
The present study investigated the effects of mindfulness train‐ ing on ER skills and mood of teacher trainees
Summary
Emotion regulation (ER), defined as “attempts individuals make to influence which emotions they have, when they have them, and how these emotions are experienced and expressed” (Gross, Richards, & John, 2006, p. 14), is an inherent part of everyday life. Advantageous effects on ER have been observed for both mindfulness‐based interventions (see above) and yoga as a stand‐alone treatment (Menezes et al, 2015), they can be expected to be stronger for mindfulness training than yoga: Mindfulness training is primarily a mental activity, which is ex‐ panded by a movement component in yoga (Schmalzl et al, 2015), so that part of the mental resources consumed during yoga need to be spent on correct execution of positions These re‐ sources are lost for immediate ER. To facilitate the im‐ plementation of a mindfulness program for this target group, two adapted MBSR courses were compared, one of them including, the other one excluding yoga exercises Comparable effects of both programs would suggest that the inclusion of yoga is not necessary to strengthen ER strategies or to reduce anxious/depressive mood in future teachers. Mindfulness‐based effects on ER and mood are moderated by amount and quality of homework practice
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
