The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction on Affective Control Dimensions in Adolescent Girls with Dysfunctional Eating Attitudes

Abstract

Adolescents often take an inappropriate approach to eating to confront critical stress during puberty, which might, in turn, result in inefficient nutritional attitudes. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) on the dimensions of affective control in adolescent girls with dysfunctional eating attitudes. The population of this experimental study included 200 high school girls in the third educational zone of Isfahan, Iran, of whom 30 were selected by convenience sampling, considering the inclusion and exclusion criteria, and were randomly divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group received the MBSR intervention and were followed up 40 days after the end of the treatment. The data were collected by the Eating Attitude Test and Affective Control Scale and were analyzed using repeated-measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The results revealed the efficacy of MBSR on affective control in adolescent girls with dysfunctional eating attitudes. It might be concluded that MBSR can be effective in improving the mental health of adolescent girls with dysfunctional eating attitudes. In fact, mindfulness might influence an individual’s emotional and behavioral responses by altering the distorted thought processes that form the basis of the general aspects of well-being, especially mental health.