Individual Differences In Mindfulness Research Articles

A Cross-Sectional Investigation of Trait Mindfulness, Concussion Symptom Severity, and Quality of Life in Adults with Persisting Symptoms Postconcussion.

Individual differences in mindfulness may impact quality of life after concussion. In a cross-sectional analysis, the moderating effect of mindfulness was tested on the association between symptom severity and quality of life in adults with persisting postconcussion symptoms (N = 85). Mindfulness and symptom severity were independently associated with quality of life; however, mindfulness did not moderate this association. "Nonreactivity" was independently associated with quality of life; however, it was not a significant moderator. Taking a nonreactive stance, or allowing experiences to come and go without effort to change them, may be relevant to quality-of-life outcomes after concussion.

The Impact of Children Behavior on Depressive Symptoms among Parents of Children with ASD: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness and Perceived Social Support

ABSTRACT Background Behavior problems of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) bring many difficulties and stress to their parents, thus increasing their risk of depression. Recent studies have shown that the mindfulness and perceived social support may play significant roles in improving the depression of these parents as well as relieve their boundary of stress. However, related research conducted under the context of Mainland China is still limited, and no studies have yet explored the mediating effect of mindfulness and perceived social support on the relationship between behavior of children with ASD and depressive symptoms of parents in Mainland China. Objective The present study aimed to examine the relationship between behavior problems of children with ASD and parents’ depressive symptoms in Mainland China and focused on whether mindfulness and perceived social support may act as mediators in the association between child behavior problems and parents’ depressive symptoms. Method Participants were 286 Chinese parents of children with ASD. The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Center for Epidemiological Studies–Depression Scale (CES-D), the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R), and the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List-12 (ISEL-12) were adopted to assess: child behavior problems, parental depressive symptoms, individual differences in mindfulness and perceived social support. Results The direct effects of child behavior problems on parental depressive symptoms was statistically significant (direct effect = 0.137, SE = 0.043, p = .002). Child behavior problems also showed a significant indirect effect on parental depressive symptoms through mindfulness (indirect effect = 0.097, SE = 0.025, p < .001) and perceived social support (indirect effect = 0.088, SE = 0.023, p < .001). Conclusions Two variables, mindfulness and perceived social support both played a mediating role in the influence of child behavior problems on parents’ depressive symptoms. Parental depressive symptoms were significantly related to child behavior problems. Consistent with previous studies across diverse cultural backgrounds, the results of this study showed that the relationship between child behavior problems and parents’ depressive symptoms was, in part, mediated by mindfulness and perceived social support of parents. Mindfulness interventions and effective social support for parents of children with ASD may be needed to help parents raise their children and relieve depressive symptoms.

From childhood maltreatment to adult inflammation: Evidence for the mediational status of social anxiety and low positive affect

Prior work has established a robust association between childhood maltreatment and systemic inflammatory activation later in life; however, the mechanisms involved in this process remain incompletely understood. The purpose of this investigation was to examine potential mechanistic roles for social anxiety (SA) symptoms and low positive affect (PA) in the path from childhood maltreatment to elevations in circulating interleukin (IL)-6, a common biomarker of inflammatory activation. In addition, building on prior work establishing linkages between mindful awareness and reductions in systemic inflammation, we examined the potential role of trait mindfulness as a moderator of the relationships among childhood maltreatment, SA, low PA, and IL-6. A serial mediation model utilizing a large epidemiologic dataset (final N ​= ​527) supported our central hypothesis that the direct effect of childhood maltreatment on IL-6 was fully serially statistically mediated by SA symptoms and low PA (but not high negative affect). Additionally, results indicated that individuals falling in the upper versus lower quartiles of SA symptoms demonstrated significantly elevated concentrations of IL-6, a finding that has not been previously reported. Trait mindfulness moderated the association between low PA and IL-6, to the exclusion of any paths related to negative affect. Additionally, results indicated that the effect of child maltreatment on IL-6 bypasses SA to indirectly impact IL-6 via negative affect. Overall, we conclude that childhood maltreatment and SA symptoms have a significant influence on IL-6, albeit indirectly via low PA, and the influence of PA on IL-6 may be uniquely susceptible to influence by individual differences in mindfulness.

The relation between mindfulness and perceived partner responsiveness during couples' vulnerability discussions.

Intimacy develops when a person discloses vulnerability and perceives their partner's response as supportive. However, a published experimental study found that individuals report their partners as less supportive in response to disclosures of specific examples of vulnerability that involve the partner (i.e., partner-inclusive) compared to disclosures that do not involve the partner (i.e., partner-exclusive). This research is an extension of findings from that experimental study and examines how individual differences in mindfulness and disclosure specificity are associated with perceived partner responsiveness during disclosures of partner-inclusive and partner-exclusive vulnerabilities. Cohabiting couples (N = 82) were randomly assigned to engage in either partner-inclusive or -exclusive vulnerability discussions. Each couple engaged in 2 video-recorded discussions so that each person took a turn as discloser and responder. Trained coders rated disclosures for specificity (i.e., whether or not the discloser used specific examples). Following each discussion, couples rated perceived partner responsiveness. Hypotheses were tested with multilevel modeling. Findings suggest that individuals perceived their partners' reactions as less responsive when they disclosed specific, partner-inclusive vulnerabilities and their partners had lower mindfulness. When partners had higher mindfulness, individuals perceived their partners as similarly responsive when disclosing partner-inclusive and -exclusive vulnerabilities, regardless of specificity. Mindfulness may enable couples to remain engaged during partner-inclusive vulnerability discussions leading to higher perceived responsiveness-an integral component of intimacy development. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

How is Mindfulness Linked to Negative and Positive Affect? Rumination as an Explanatory Process in a Prospective Longitudinal Study of Adolescents.

Research shows greater mindfulness is associated with less negative affect and more positive affect. Fewer studies have examined the mediating psychological processes linking mindfulness to these outcomes in adolescents. This three-wave, prospective longitudinal study examines rumination-the tendency to engage in repetitive and negative self-focused thinking-as one potential explanatory process. High school students (N = 599, Mage = 16.3 years; 49% girls) completed a short-form version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, in addition to self-report measures of rumination and negative and positive affect three times over the course of a school year. Autoregressive, cross-lagged panel models tested reciprocal, prospective associations between mindfulness, rumination, and negative and positive affect, while accounting for prior levels of each construct, within-wave covariances, and gender and grade level. The results showed that the nonjudgment mindfulness facet (and the total mindfulness score) predicted cross-wave reductions in rumination, that in turn predicted cross-wave reductions in negative affect. No evidence for mediation was found for positive affect, or for any of the other mindfulness facets (describe, acting with awareness, and nonreactivity). This study provides suggestive evidence that individual differences in mindfulness, and in particular nonjudgmental acceptance, prospectively predict less negative affect through lower rumination.

Characteristics of sustaining attention in a gradual-onset continuous performance task.

Continuous performance tasks are frequently associated with a vigilance decrement, particularly when target events are rare and after prolonged time on task. Here we characterized the time course of a performance decrement that happens more rapidly. Using the gradual-onset continuous performance task (the gradCPT), we presented participants with a long sequence of scenes that gradually faded in and out. Participants pressed a button as soon as they detected scenes in one category and ignored scenes in another category. We manipulated the novelty of stimuli, required response rate, and the prevalence rate of the target stimuli. Performance sensitivity declined moderately within and across three 8-min-long blocks. Contrary to mindlessness accounts of vigilance decrement, the decline was not restricted to situations when target events were rare and the stimuli were repetitive. High motor response rates substantially impaired overall sensitivity and moderately increased performance decrement. Performance in the gradCPT did not correlate with individual differences in mindfulness, attentional lapses, media multitasking, or complex working memory span. The rapid and pervasively observed decline in performance is consistent with attentional resource theories of vigilance decrement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Left Unheard: Detecting Mood and Aggression Through Ostracism and Trait Mindfulness

Ostracism occurs in the real world but causal investigation of the effect of ostracism on antisocial behavior (i.e., aggression) is typically limited by ethical consideration. This lab-based study (N = 131 Indonesian undergraduates) replicated and extended Chester and DeWall’s (2016) work by: (1) measuring the impact of ostracism on direct physical aggression rather than symbolic form of aggression; (2) investigating the role of trait mindfulness as a potential emotion regulation mechanism to replace the mood-improving qualities in aggression; and (3) employing a non-Western sample. We found that after being involved in the CRTT, ostracized participants mood had recovered at least in terms of negative affect. Aggression might have been seen as justifiable once it was followed by an act of restoring control of to not damage the ostracizer’s reputation afterwards. Moreover, we found that trait mindfulness could buffer negative reactions to ostracism by reducing aggressiveness once the negative affect was higher. As a whole, this study may provide a useful framework on whether and when the mechanism of mood improvement as well as individual differences in mindfulness could be incorporated into the intervention strategies for preventing ostracism-related aggression before escalating to violence.

Physical activity in Indonesian University students: the contradictory roles of dispositional mindfulness and self-control

ABSTRACTPhysical inactivity is now identified as one of the major risk factors for global mortality, including in Indonesia. Past research in Western settings have demonstrated the efficacy of self-determined or autonomous forms of motivation in predicting health-related behaviours, and that association between these variables could possibly be moderated by individual differences in mindfulness. In terms of mindfulness, individuals from different cultures may vary in their familiarity and acceptance of mindfulness in daily life. Moreover, the ways though which individuals exhibit qualities of mindfulness are often intertwined with their capacity for self-control. In this correlational study utilizing cloud-based online survey, samples of Indonesian undergraduates (N = 411, mean age = 20.202, SD = 1.406) completed self-report measures of trait mindfulness, trait self-control, autonomous motivation, and physical activity. Bootstrap multiple regression analysis indicated that association between autonomous motivation and physical activity is strengthened by trait self-control (p = .017), but conversely, weakened by trait mindfulness (p = .024). Cultural perspective may help explain the dynamics of mindfulness, self-control, autonomous motivation, and physical activity.

Characteristics of sustaining attention in a gradual-onset continuous performance task

Continuous performance tasks are frequently associated with a vigilance decrement, particularly when target events are rare and after prolonged time on task. Here we characterized the time course of a performance decrement that happens more rapidly. Using the gradual-onset continuous performance task (the gradCPT), we presented participants with a long sequence of scenes that gradually faded in and out. Participants pressed a button as soon as they detected scenes in one category and ignored scenes in another category. We manipulated the novelty of stimuli, required response rate, and the prevalence rate of the target stimuli. Performance sensitivity declined moderately within and across three 8-min-long blocks. Contrary to mindlessness accounts of vigilance decrement, the decline was not restricted to situations when target events were rare and the stimuli were repetitive. High motor response rates substantially impaired overall sensitivity and moderately increased performance decrement. Performance in the gradCPT did not correlate with individual differences in mindfulness, attentional lapses, media multitasking, or complex working memory span. The rapid and pervasively observed decline in performance is consistent with attentional resource theories of vigilance decrement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

A multi-group analysis of the effects of individual differences in mindfulness on nomophobia

This study aimed to investigate the impact of individual differences in mindfulness on nomophobia. We developed and validated two structural models to identify the relationship between mindfulness and nomophobia. The ‘Nomophobia Questionnaire’ and the ‘Mindful Attention Awareness Scale’ were used to obtain data from the subjects. One-way MANOVA results suggested a statistically significant difference in nomophobia based on higher versus lower mindfulness. Further, a multi-group analysis was conducted to test the hypothesized relationships in the structural models for men and women. The results revealed that mindfulness had a significant negative correlation with nomophobia for both men and women. As scores in mindfulness increased, subjects exhibited less nomophobic tendencies. Further, those subjects who had lower scores in mindfulness showed higher anxiety when they were unable to communicate. However, subjects who scored higher in mindfulness showed lower anxiety when they could not access desired information. Independent sample t-test results were variant across men and women in nomophobia. Based on the findings we conclude that mindfulness based treatments can be beneficial in dealing with nomophobia for women.

Infant HPA axis as a potential mechanism linking maternal mental health and infant telomere length

Maternal depression has been suggested to be an independent risk factor for both dysregulated hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPA) functioning and shorter telomere length in offspring. In contrast, research suggests that individual differences in mindfulness may act as a protective factor against one’s own telomere degradation. Currently, research has yet to investigate the association between longitudinal changes in maternal mental health (depressive symptoms and mindfulness) and salivary infant telomere length, and whether such changes might be mediated by alterations in infant cortisol response. In 48 mother-infant dyads, we investigated whether the changes in maternal mental health, when infants were 6–12 months of age, predicted change in infant cortisol reactivity and recovery over this period. We also investigated whether these changes in infant HPA functioning predicted subsequent infant salivary telomere length at 18 months of age. Furthermore, we investigated whether change in infant HPA functioning provided a potential pathway between changes in maternal mental health factors and infant salivary telomere length. Analyses revealed that increases in maternal depressive symptoms over that six-month period indirectly related to subsequent shorter infant telomere length through increased infant cortisol reactivity. Implications for the ways in which maternal mental health can impact offspring stress mechanisms related to aging and disease trajectories are discussed.

Understanding maternal dietary choices during pregnancy: The role of social norms and mindful eating

IntroductionSerious health complications associated with excessive weight have been documented for pregnant women and their babies during pregnancy, birth and beyond. Whilst research has focused on identifying particular foods that can be either detrimental or essential for the developing baby, pregnant women's food choices are likely determined by broader considerations. This study examined social influences as represented in reports of descriptive and injunctive social norms related to healthy eating during pregnancy, and individual differences in mindfulness while eating, as important potential correlates of pregnant women's self-reported diet. MethodsPregnant women (N = 139) completed a questionnaire that measured self-reported consumption of healthy and unhealthy foods, descriptive and injunctive norms related to healthy eating during pregnancy and the Mindful Eating Questionnaire (MEQ). Hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted to assess the extent to which norms and mindful eating accounted for variance in consumption of both foods. ResultsNo significant associations were observed between perceived social norms related to diet during pregnancy and self-reported dietary behaviour. Mindful eating was found to play a role in pregnant women's eating behaviour, with the awareness subscale of the MEQ significantly associated with healthy eating and the emotional subscale associated with unhealthy eating. Age was also associated with consumption of unhealthy foods; younger pregnant women reported consuming more unhealthy snacks and fast food meals. ConclusionsThe associations between mindful eating and dietary behaviour suggests that improving mindfulness related to food consumption before and during pregnancy may provide a strategy to address excessive gestational weight gain.

What Do We Really Know About the Effects of Mindfulness-Based Training in the Workplace?

In an attempt to distill what we know about the effects of workplace mindfulness-based training, Hyland, Lee, and Mills (2015) cast a wide net with regard to the array of studies included in their review. For example, they include studies that investigate the benefits associated with workplace mindfulness training (e.g., Wolever et al., 2012) as well as training conducted for patients within primary care settings (e.g., Allen, Bromley, Kuyken, &amp; Sonnenberg, 2009). In addition, their review includes studies based on self-reports of individual differences in mindfulness traits/skills (e.g., Hafenbrack, Kinias, &amp; Barsade, 2014). Reviewing a broad cross-section of research is helpful to illustrate the wide-ranging nature of mindfulness research but also has the potential to obfuscate what we know about mindfulness as it pertains to workers and workplaces.

The origins of individual differences in dispositional mindfulness

A large and coherent body of evidence reveals that high dispositional mindfulness is a positive personal resource, yet remarkably little is known about the origins of individual differences in mindfulness. Attachment theory describes how early experiences with caregivers shape psychosocial development across the lifespan. Drawing from attachment theory, we propose that those who have received sensitive and responsive caregiving in childhood are more likely to have a secure attachment style which may, in turn, provide greater capacity for mindfulness. In an adolescent sample attending a large urban university (Study 1), there were indirect effects of parental rejection and parental warmth on mindfulness via attachment anxiety and avoidance. In Study 2 we tested the same hypotheses in a group of adolescent high school students and replicated the above pattern of results. In brief, both retrospective reports (Study 1) and current reports (Study 2) of the quality of parenting received were associated with individual differences in mindfulness via attachment processes. This research suggests that the origins of individual differences in dispositional mindfulness may have their roots in early childhood experiences.

Mindfulness, Work Climate, and Psychological Need Satisfaction in Employee Well-being

The present study investigated how both mindfulness and managerial autonomy support affect work adjustment. Two hundred and fifty-nine working adults were recruited online, and they were assessed for individual differences in mindfulness and the autonomy-supportive versus controlling style of their management at work. Also assessed were indicators of work-related adjustment, namely, burnout, turnover intention, and absenteeism. Results showed that both autonomy support and mindfulness had direct relations with employee work well-being. Less autonomy-supportive work climates thwarted employee’s basic psychological needs at work, which partially explained the association of lower autonomy support at work and decreased work adjustment. These indirect effects were moderated by mindfulness. Specifically, people higher in mindfulness were less likely to feel need frustration, even in unsupportive managerial environments. Mindfulness thus appears to act as a protective factor in controlling work environments. These results not only highlight mindfulness as a potential pathway to wellness at the workplace, but also speak to the relevance of autonomy support in work environments in promoting employee work well-being.

マインドフルネス特性が道徳判断における嫌悪感の自動的な転移に及ぼす効果

Previous studies showed that incidental feelings of disgust could make moral judgments more severe. In the present study, we investigated whether individual differences in mindfulness modulated automatic transference of disgust into moral judgment. Undergraduates were divided into high- and low-mindfulness groups based on the mean score on each subscale of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Participants were asked to write about a disgusting experience or an emotionally neutral experience, and then to evaluate moral (impersonal vs. high-conflict personal) and non-moral scenarios. The results showed that the disgust induction made moral judgments more severe for the low "acting with awareness" participants, whereas it did not influence the moral judgments of the high "acting with awareness" participants irrespective of type of moral dilemma. The other facets of the FFMQ did not modulate the effect of disgust on moral judgment. These findings suggest that being present prevents automatic transference of disgust into moral judgment even when prepotent emotions elicited by the thought of killing one person to save several others and utilitarian reasoning conflict.

Delineating the contributions of sustained attention and working memory to individual differences in mindfulness

Mindfulness can be deconstructed into two constituent components: present-moment awareness and acceptance. Attention and working memory are theorized to contribute to individual differences in trait mindfulness, although the precise relationship among these constructs remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the association of neurocognitive indices of attention and working memory with a bidimensional trait measure of mindfulness. Fifty-five psychiatrically and neurologically healthy adults completed the Conners Continuous Performance Test, Penn Letter N-back Test, and Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale. Results indicated that present-moment awareness was associated with a response speed variability measure of sustained attention, whereas acceptance was more strongly linked to working memory efficiency, even after accounting for general intellectual ability. These findings suggest that sustained attention and working memory capacities may differentially subserve individual differences in present-moment awareness and acceptance, thereby illuminating our understanding of the cognitive mechanisms which may underlie trait mindfulness.

Trait mindfulness modulates neuroendocrine and affective responses to social evaluative threat

Individual differences in mindfulness have been associated with numerous self-report indicators of stress, but research has not examined how mindfulness may buffer neuroendocrine and psychological stress responses under controlled laboratory conditions. The present study investigated the role of trait mindfulness in buffering cortisol and affective responses to a social evaluative stress challenge versus a control task. Participants completed measures of trait mindfulness, perceived stress, anxiety, and fear of negative evaluation before being randomized to complete the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST; Kirschbaum et al., 1993) or a control task. At points throughout the session, participants provided five saliva samples to assess cortisol response patterns, and completed four self-report measures of anxiety and negative affect to assess psychological responses. In accord with hypotheses, higher trait mindfulness predicted lower cortisol responses to the TSST, relative to the control task, as well as lower anxiety and negative affect. These relations remained significant when controlling for the role of other variables that predicted cortisol and affective responses. The findings suggest that trait mindfulness modulates cortisol and affective responses to an acute social stressor. Further research is needed to understand the neural pathways through which mindfulness impacts these responses.

A cognitive perspective on mindfulness

Mindfulness, the core teaching of the Buddhist tradition, has been receiving serious attention from the West in recent decades as evidence of the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions for emotional distress have become available. Although traditional Buddhist texts have described the mechanisms of mindfulness and the way to cultivate it in great detail, much is still not known from the perspective of Western science. In particular, there is no general agreement on the conceptualization and operationalization of mindfulness. Several conceptual models of mindfulness (referred to as "state" or "trait") have been put forward to elucidate different aspects of this phenomenon, but none has gained sufficient empirical validation. This article proposes a new cognitive model of mindfulness. It has been our goal to describe and interrelate a relatively comprehensive group of determinants of a state of mindfulness, the consequences of its regular practicing, the mechanisms responsible for its beneficial effects, and the feedback mechanisms operating between the various constituents of the model. Within this model, the primary emphasis has been placed on understanding the cognitive processes shaping a state of mindfulness (i.e., the links between consciousness, meta-awareness and the unconscious), and on their determinants (i.e., the executive functions of attention and the components of working memory). A metacognitive system promoting mindfulness, as well as the general capability of the central executive system, is suggested as a factor explaining individual differences in mindfulness, whereas decentering, self-compassion, and reduction of self-focused attention are proposed as mechanisms mediating beneficial changes. We hope that the model presented will encourage further discussion and orient future studies in the area of mindfulness.

Dispositional mindfulness and the attenuation of neural responses to emotional stimuli

Considerable research has disclosed how cognitive reappraisals and the modulation of emotional responses promote successful emotion regulation. Less research has examined how the early processing of emotion-relevant stimuli may create divergent emotional response consequences. Mindfulness--a receptive, non-evaluative form of attention--is theorized to foster emotion regulation, and the present study examined whether individual differences in mindfulness would modulate neural responses associated with the early processing of affective stimuli. Focus was on the late positive potential (LPP) of the event-related brain potential to visual stimuli varying in emotional valence and arousal. This study first found, replicating past research, that high arousal images, particularly of an unpleasant type, elicited larger LPP responses. Second, the study found that more mindful individuals showed lower LPP responses to high arousal unpleasant images, even after controlling for trait attentional control. Conversely, two traits contrasting with mindfulness--neuroticism and negative affectivity--were associated with higher LPP responses to high arousal unpleasant images. Finally, mindfulness was also associated with lower LPP responses to motivationally salient pleasant images (erotica). These findings suggest that mindfulness modulates neural responses in an early phase of affective processing, and contribute to understanding how this quality of attention may promote healthy emotional functioning.