Reduced Reactivity to and Suppression of Thoughts Mediate the Effects of Mindfulness Training on Recovery Outcomes Following Exposure to Potentially Traumatic Stress

Abstract

We tested whether reduced thought suppression and reactivity to thought content (i.e., cognitive defusion) mediate the effects of a four-session mindfulness training intervention on clinical outcomes important to recovery in a general community-sample of adults (N = 38) recently exposed to potentially traumatic event (PTE). Thought suppression mediated the effects of mindfulness training on all studied distal risk factors and symptom outcomes—anxiety sensitivity, rumination, and negative affect, as well as posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms. Cognitive defusion mediated the effects of mindfulness training on anxiety sensitivity, negative affect, and posttraumatic stress symptoms, but not rumination or depression symptoms. Thus, we found that reduced reactivity to and reduced suppression of thoughts mediated the effects of mindfulness training on recovery outcomes following exposure to PTE. Findings are discussed with respect to their theoretical and clinical implications for the potential role and mediating mechanisms of mindfulness in recovery following trauma.