Abstract
This study examines the impact of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) vs. wait list (WL) on the self-reference effect involving negative adjectives in individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD). Eighty-five participants with SAD were randomly assigned to 12 weeks of MBSR or WL and completed an incidental SRE task that assessed treatment-related negative self-representations. Self-related negative adjectives were worse remembered in MBSR than in WL, and other-related negative adjectives were better remembered in MBSR than in WL. No differences emerged between the levels of self- and other-related processing for adjectives in MBSR. Moreover, the MBSR-related decreases in the difference in recognition memory performance between self and other conditions, that is, the treatment-related equilibrium, could predict the MBSR-related decreases in social anxiety symptoms. The selfless functioning and self-other control that can provide reasonable interpretations for these findings were discussed.
Highlights
Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have negative beliefs about the self, that is, the negative endorsement effect (e.g., “I’m stupid” or “I’m a failure”)
In line with the prediction in Hypothesis 1, before treatment, there was an self-reference effect (SRE) concerning negative adjectives found in individuals with SAD, that is, a self–other bias showing that self-related negative adjectives were better remembered than other-related negative adjectives
The findings are consistent with Kalenzaga and Jouhaud [31], revealing that there were more negative self-representations existing in the long-term memory of individuals with SAD compared with other representations and implying that the SRE concerning negative adjectives is a suitable measure of behavioral characters of individuals with SAD
Summary
Individuals with social anxiety disorder (SAD) have negative beliefs about the self, that is, the negative endorsement effect (e.g., “I’m stupid” or “I’m a failure”). They focus attention on the salient aspects of the self-image, in particular, those that are potentially negative due to the dysfunctional schemas of the self [1, 2]. MBSR is a structured group program of mindfulness training developed by Kabat-Zinn [8] and is shown to be an effective intervention for reducing the symptoms of stress, depression, and anxiety across a wide range of clinical populations [9]. A test of negative self-representations is a meaningful measure when investigating MBSR for SAD
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