Abstract
Body awareness (BA) has long been proposed as a working mechanism of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), yet research on the mediating role of BA is scarce. Hence, the present study assesses the impact of an 8-week MBI on self-reported and indirect measures of BA, investigates the potential mediating role of BA in the relationship between an MBI and symptomatology, evaluates the impact of an MBI on important psychological processes (i.e., experiential avoidance, rumination, self-efficacy, and self-discrepancy), and explores whether these variables act alongside BA in mediating the relationship between an MBI and symptomatology. A non-randomized controlled trial was conducted with 148 participants (n = 89 in the MBI group; n = 59 in the control group) who completed questionnaires assessing BA and the above-mentioned psychological processes before and after an MBI. A sub-sample of participants (n = 86) completed a task that evaluates BA indirectly. Results showed a significant effect of MBI on the self-reported BA but not on the indirect measure of BA. The MBI significantly reduced symptomatology, and this effect was mediated by regulatory and belief-related dimensions of BA. Multiple mediator models showed a significant mediation via various pathways involving improved BA and various transdiagnostic psychological processes.
Highlights
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are programs that employ systematic and sustained training in mindfulness meditation practice as a core methodology [1]
Taking the above into account, the present study aims to answer the following research questions: (1) What is the impact of an 8-week MBI on self-reported and indirect measures of Body awareness (BA)? (2) What is the relationship between scores on self-reported measures of BA and performance on an indirect measure of BA? (3) What is the impact of an MBI on experiential avoidance, rumination, self-efficacy, and self-discrepancy? (4) what is the impact of an MBI on symptomatology, and is this effect mediated by BA and related psychological processes?
The present study investigated the impact of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy program (MBCT) on BA as measured by self-report questionnaires and an indirect BA task in a heterogeneous clinical adult sample
Summary
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are programs that employ systematic and sustained training in mindfulness meditation practice as a core methodology [1]. The main therapeutic component of MBIs is the skill of mindfulness, which can be defined as “the awareness that emerges through paying attention on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally to the unfolding of experience moment by moment” [2] One of the theorized working mechanisms by which MBIs exert their positive effects is by improving body awareness [6,7,8]. In the present paper, we use a multidimensional conceptualization of BA: “the subjective, phenomenological aspect of proprioception and interoception that enters conscious awareness, which is modifiable by mental processes including attention, interpretation, appraisal, beliefs, memories, conditioning, attitudes and affect” [9] The BA construct, as defined here, encompasses two important aspects of conscious bodily experience: interoceptive and proprioceptive awareness
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