Mindfulness Skills and Anxiety-Related Cognitive Processes Among Young Adult Daily Smokers: A Pilot Test

Abstract

We examined specific mindfulness skills (observing, describing, acting with awareness, accepting without judgment, as measured by the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills, in terms of anxiety-related cognitive processes among adult daily smokers (n = 90; 43 females; Mage = 26.6 years, SD = 11.8). Partially consistent with hypotheses, describing and accepting without judgment were each shown to significantly predict perceived control over anxiety-related events. The observed significant effects were evident above and beyond the variance accounted for by gender, smoking rate, and negative affectivity. Although observing also was shown to significantly predict agoraphobic cognition, it was in the opposite direction as was theoretically expected. No evidence of incremental validity for mindfulness skills was evident for anxiety sensitivity. These data highlight the potential explanatory relevance of only specific mindfulness skills in terms of only certain anxiety-based cognitive processes among adult daily smokers.