Mindfulness Attention And Awareness Scale Research Articles

INFLUENCE OF VARIOUS STYLES OF MANTRA CHANTING ON STUDENT’S COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE

Background: Mantra is a tool to enhance mood regulation, stress management skills, and concentration and awareness. Materials & Methods: There were 35 participants including men and women between the age of 20 to 45 years, in the present study. They were all instructed to recite the "Mahamrityunjaya mantra (MM)" for ten days as an orientation programme. Cognitive tools such the Six Letter Cancellation Test (SLCT), Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS), and Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) were used. These tools were used to evaluate all six sessions, including the baseline. On the first day of the program, all participants underwent a 10-day orientation, a seven-day washout period, and seven days of post-recording, which included loud chanting (LC), lips movement (LM), silent chanting (SC), audio listening (AL), and silent sitting (SS). As each session lasted 20 minutes, recordings were made for the post-assessment following the intervention for 20 minutes. Results: The Repeated measure ANOVA, Friedman test, and Wilcoxon signed ranked tests were done to analyse the data. The Mindfulness following mantra chanting was significantly higher during loud chanting (LC) (p<0.05) compared to the silent chanting (SC) and the baseline. Also, the scores of digits backward (DB) were significantly higher in LC (p<0.01), LM (p<0.05), SC (p<0.001), and AL (p<0.01), compared to baseline. Conclusion: Results of the current study suggested that mindfulness prevails following the practice of LC and short-term memory following SC suggestive of more information processing in the amygdala, hippocampus, and pre-central cortex.

Mindfulness disposition as a protective factor against stress in Antarctica: A potential countermeasure for long-duration spaceflight?

BackgroundLong-duration missions in isolated, confined, and extreme environments, including Antarctica and upcoming deep-space operations, can be a source of increased stress. The identification of countermeasures and protective factors is required to support health and performance in similar contexts. Mindfulness disposition is an optimal candidate, but no research has ever explored this potential association. MethodsTwenty-four crew members from two Antarctic expeditions at the Concordia base were repeatedly assessed over the course of a 12-month mission for stress (Perceived Stress Scale) and mindfulness, using multiple assessment measures, including the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS), the Breath Counting Task, and the Triangle Task. ResultsResults indicate a strong negative association over time between mindfulness and stress, particularly when measured with the MAAS and the LMS. Higher MAAS baseline values were also good predictors of lower stress patterns during the mission. ConclusionsMindfulness disposition was negatively associated with stress over time, suggesting that it can play an important role in stress mitigation in isolated and confined environments, including long-duration space missions. Furthermore, a mindfulness assessment could be added to the crew selection procedure.

COVID-19 Pandemic and Internet Addiction in Young Adults: A Pilot Study on Positive and Negative Psychosocial Correlates.

During and after the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic period, a strain was put on young adults who have taken refuge in the problematic use of internet, social media, gaming, and gambling. This paper aims to investigate possible correlates of Internet Addiction Disorder (IAD), hypothesizing anxiety, depression and perceived stress would promote addiction, while mindfulness skills, resilience and socialization would, conversely, hamper IAD, and promote, consequently, a more functional internet use. A pilot study was carried out with a sample of 31 young adults, recruited through a snowball sampling using social networks. Participants filled out an online questionnaire including the following measures: Internet Use, Abuse and Addiction (UADI), Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II); State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI-Y); Perceived Stress Scale (PSS); Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ); Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS); Resilience Scale (RS-14). It was also administered an ad hoc questionnaire for the assessment of socialization behaviour (6 items) and gambling (2 items). All the measures, but socialization, showed adequate reliability. Our sample showed high levels of anxiety, stress, IA and gambling, while presenting low levels of resilience, the mindful skill of no-reactivity and socialization. The first hypothesis was confirmed, finding positive and significant correlations between Internet Addiction on one side and PSS, STAI-Y1, STAY-2, and BDI II on the other side. We also partially confirmed the second hypothesis about UADI negatively correlated with both RS-14 and Mindful Acting. Finally, no correlations were found between Gambling and IA. In conclusion, the more one perceives an emotional overload with less stress-control, high anxiety, and depression, and the less one can leverage on the skills of mindful acting and resilience, the more one uses the internet as a strategy to escape from a threatening reality.

Effectiveness of Four-Week Mindfulness-Based Training on Life Satisfaction

The training of the present work was designed based on the study by Demarzo and colleagues (2017), in which a four-week mindfulness-based intervention showed a similar effectiveness as the eight-week mindfulness-based stress reduction training. A sample of 120 participants was divided into an experimental group (n=80) and a control group (n=40) which filled out questionnaires about their mindfulness (Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS)) and life satisfaction (Fragebogen zur allgemeinen Lebenszufriedenheit (FLZ), Kurzskala Lebenszufriedenheit-1 (L-1)) at two measurement times. It was shown that the mindfulness ability of the experimental group increased after the training and differed significantly (p=0,05) both from the first measurement point and from the control group at both measurement points. The same was true for life satisfaction, which was measured using a multi-item scale.

Impact of Mindfulness Training on EFL Learners’ Willingness to Speak, Speaking Anxiety Levels and Mindfulness Awareness Levels

There has been a rise of interest in mindfulness and its effects on the educational context during the last several decades. The research study aims to investigate the effects of mindfulness training on EFL students’ level of speaking anxiety, willingness to speak in the target language, and their levels of mindfulness awareness. The perceptions of participants were also investigated in this study. In total, 41 sophomore students who were studying in the Aviation Management Department (20 in the experimental group, 21 in the control group) participated in the study. The participants were taking General English Courses for 8 hours every week in one of the state universities in the Black Sea Region, Turkey. To reduce the risk of bias, the data were gathered at different times and from multiple sources; questionnaires, and interviews. For quantitative data, the Turkish adapted versions of the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale (FLCAS), and Willingness to Communicate Scale (WTC) were utilized as pre and post-tests. For qualitative data, Semi-structured Interviews were conducted. The findings of the study revealed that mindfulness had a positive effect on participants’ willingness to speak, their speaking anxiety levels, and their mindfulness-awareness levels. Qualitative data also showed that the participants got huge benefits not only in the English language learning context but also in different areas of their lives.

Lasting increases in trait mindfulness after psilocybin correlate positively with the mystical-type experience in healthy individuals.

BackgroundPsilocybin-induced mystical-type experiences are associated with lasting positive psychological outcomes. Recent studies indicate that trait mindfulness is increased 3 months after psilocybin intake, preceded by decreases in neocortical serotonin 2A receptor (5-HT2AR) binding. However, the association between psilocybin-induced mystical-type experiences and subsequent changes in trait mindfulness remains unexplored, as does the association between pre-drug trait mindfulness and 5-HT2AR binding in the healthy brain.AimWe evaluated whether psilocybin induced lasting increases in trait mindfulness in healthy volunteers, and whether the mystical-type experience was associated with this increase. We further examined the association between pre-drug trait mindfulness and 5-HT2AR binding in neocortex and selected frontolimbic regions.Materials and methodsForty-six medium-high dose psilocybin sessions were conducted in 39 healthy individuals. The mystical-type experience was measured with the Mystical Experience Questionnaire (MEQ) at the end of the session. Trait mindfulness was measured using the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) at baseline and 3 months after the psilocybin session. Thirty-two of the participants completed pre-drug [11C]-Cimbi-36 positron emission tomography (PET) to assess 5-HT2AR binding in neocortex and, post-hoc, in the frontolimbic regions amygdala, frontal cortex, and anterior cingulate cortex.ResultsThe MAAS score was significantly increased at 3-month follow-up (p = 3.24 × 10–6), a change positively associated with the MEQ score (p = 0.035). Although the association between pre-drug MAAS score and neocortex 5-HT2AR binding was not significant (p = 0.24), post-hoc analyses revealed a significant negative association between MAAS and right amygdala 5-HT2AR binding (pFWER = 0.008).ConclusionWe here show that lasting changes in trait mindfulness following psilocybin administration are positively associated with intensity of the mystical-type experience, suggesting that the acute phenomenology of psilocybin facilitates a shift in awareness conducive for mindful living. We furthermore show that higher pre-drug trait mindfulness is associated with reduced 5-HT2AR binding in the right amygdala.

Mindfulness, Perceived Stress and Coping Strategies during COVID-19 Pandemic in Turkish Dentistry Students

Purpose: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between perceived stress, mindfulness and coping strategies of undergraduate dental students during the COVID-19.
 Methods: A cross‐sectional study was conducted among 128 undergraduate dental students in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. Students completed surveys including the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced inventory (COPE). Data were analyzed using the Mann–Whitney U-test, Analysis of Variance, Student’s t-test, Kruskal Wallis test and Spearman correlation. 
 Results: A negative association was found between the MAAS and PSS according to the Spearman’s correlation coefficient (rs =-0.823, p

Psychological Responses of Hungarian Students during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

(1) Background: Changes in daily life and academic training has led to uncertainty in the higher education student population during COVID-19. The goal of the study was to examine the impacts of the pandemic on Hungarian students. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted by using self-report questionnaires collected in Google Forms. Eight-hundred-and-twenty-seven students (25.29 ± 8.09) took part anonymously. The respondents rate their overall physical and mental health on a 5-point Likert scale and validated scales were used: Well Being Index (WHO-5); Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS); and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14). Statistical analyses were performed with IBM SPSS 24.0, results were considered at a significance level p ≤ 0.05. (3) Results: Positive correlation was found between MAAS and WHO-5 (r = 0.363, p < 0.001) negative correlation between MAAS and PSS-14 (r = −0.448, p < 0.001), and negative correlation between WHO-5 and PSS-14 (r = −0.671, p < 0.001). Females had higher PSS-14 mean score (32.51 ± 10.16) than males (27.71 ± 10.19; p < 0.001; Z = −5703), males (60.92 ± 12.10) had higher MAAS level than females (57.31 ± 12.51; p < 0.001; Z = −3589). No difference was found in gender regarding WHO-5 mean scores. Athletes (7.03 ± 3.27) differ significantly from non-athletes (6.00 ± 3.04) in WHO-5 (p < 0.001; Z = −4.349) and MAAS level (p = 0.012; Z = −2.498), but showed no difference in PSS-14 (p = 0.101; Z = −1.641). Students rated mental (3.01 ± 0.99) worse than physical health (3.49 ± 0.98; p < 0.001, r = 0.426) and the narrowing of social relationships worse (3.83 ± 1.26) than physical (p < 0.001, r = −0.212) and mental health (p < 0.001, r = −0.408). Females had worse mental health (2.96 ± 9.94) than males (3.20 ± 0.99; p = 0.003; Z = −2.924) and rated the narrowing of social relationships worse (3.90 ± 1.23) than males (3.59 ± 1.35; p = 0.006; Z = −2.730). (4) Conclusions: The pandemic has negatively impacted students, and it may have long-term consequences on their mental and physical health and education.

The relationship between family quality of life, mindful attention, and social support in families of people with autism spectrum disorder

Background: In families of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the added difficulties they face may influence their perception of family quality of life (FQoL). It is important to identify factors which foster their perceived wellbeing and are susceptible to intervention. Our aim was to explore the association between mindful attention and FQoL in these families controlling their perceived social support. Method: Ninety-six parents of people with ASD were evaluated using the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Support Questionnaire for Parents with Children with Disability, and the Spanish Family Quality of Life Scale for families with underage members with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Results: Multiple regression analyses revealed that high levels of mindful attention positively predicted FQoL after controlling the influence of social support. Conclusions: Practical implications are discussed in terms of family support interventions. We conclude that mindful attention interventions may be useful for families with children and adolescents with ASD to improve their FQoL.

The impacts of mind-wandering on flow: Examining the critical role of physical activity and mindfulness.

BackgroundIndividuals with mind-wandering experience their attention decoupling from their main task at hand while others with flow experience fully engage in their task with the optimum experience. There seems to be a negative relationship between mind-wandering and flow. However, it remains unclear to what extent mind-wandering exerts an impact on flow. And it is also elusive whether physical activity and mindfulness, which are as important factors that affected individuals’ attentional control and psychological health, are beneficial in explaining the association between mind-wandering and flow. The current study investigated the relationship between mind-wandering and flow, and the potential mediation effects of physical activity and mindfulness in this association.MethodsA cross-sectional exploratory study design, including multiple scales such as the Mind-Wandering Questionnaire (MWQ), the International Physical Activity Questionnaire Short Form (IPAQ), Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), and the Short Dispositional Flow Scale (S-DFS) was applied. Descriptive statistics and bivariate correlation coefficients were applied in the analysis of these data. A multiple mediation model was used to examine the relationships between mind-wandering, flow, physical activity, and mindfulness.ResultsMind-wandering was inversely associated with physical activity, mindfulness and flow, respectively; and flow was positively related to physical activity and mindfulness, respectively. Moreover, multiple mediation results demonstrated that physical activity and mindfulness, respectively, mediated the relationship between mind-wandering and flow.ConclusionThese findings are helpful to understand how our minds attend to the present moment, and the crucial roles of physical activity and mindfulness in the association between mind-wandering and flow. An implication of these is the possibility that the effective strategies aimed at enhancing both the levels of physical activity and mindfulness are needed to reduce the negative impact of mind-wandering on flow.

Mindfulness dan Impulsive Buying Pada Dewasa Awal yang Melakukan Belanja Online Selama Pandemi Covid-19

Pandemic of COVID-19 has led to an increase in use of e-commerce. Increased online shopping transactions lead to impulsive buying behavior for consumers who like to shop online. The large selection of products that are sold and purchased online in e-commerce makes people interested in online shopping. Impulsive buying is characterized by unplanned buying behavior. Mindfulness can control individual decisions to reduce intensity of impulsive buying behavior. If someone is not aware of buying the goods purchased, then shopping behavior can become something that is automatic and does not fulfill what is actually needed. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mindfulness and impulsive buying in early adults who shopped online during COVID-19 pandemic. The research participants were 352 early adults in Aceh Province who had done online shopping. This study used quantitative correlation method. Data collection used Impulsive Buying Tendency Scale (IBTS) and Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS). The results of Pearson's correlation analysis show a significant value (p) = 0.001 (p&lt;0.05), indicates that there is relationship between mindfulness and impulsive buying in early adults who shop online during COVID-19 pandemic.

Seroprevalence of COVID-19 and Psychological Distress among Front Liners at the Universiti Malaysia Sabah Campus during the Third Wave of COVID-19.

In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic struck the globe and disrupted various aspects of psychological wellbeing, more so in frontline workers. Research on assessing the seroprevalence of COVID-19 has been scarce; in addition, there are limited studies assessing the association between the seroprevalence of COVID-19 and psychological distress. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the seroprevalence of COVID-19 and the prevalence of psychological distress and to determine whether sociodemographic variables, occupational information variables, coping styles, and psychological processes might contribute to the development of psychological distress. A cross-sectional study involving 168 Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) front liners was carried out to assess these issues. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) was employed to assess psychological distress, together with the COVID-19 Rapid Test Kit Antibody (RTK Ab) and a series of questionnaires, including a sociodemographic and occupational information questionnaire, the Balanced Index of Psychological Mindedness (BIPM) questionnaire, the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-II), and the Brief COPE questionnaire. The results demonstrated a seroprevalence of COVID-19 at 8.3% (95% CI = 5.0–14.0). Non-healthcare workers (HCWs) had a higher COVID-19 prevalence. Meanwhile, the prevalence of depression, anxiety, and stress among front liners was low (3.0%, 3.6%, and 1.2%, respectively). Younger people (aged 30 years old or less) and HCWs had a higher prevalence of psychological distress; being a HCW was significantly associated with a higher level of anxiety. Dysfunctional coping and psychological inflexibility were consistently found to be predictors for higher levels of the three psychological distress variables. This study suggested some alternatives that could be explored by mental health providers to address mental health issues among front liners at universities.

Creating Mindfulness at Stressed Environment Work-Places through a Self-Training Intervention

Does it take a pandemic to make us realize when our mind is full of anxiety and when we need to protect ourselves by being alert in a state of mindfulness at stressed environment workplaces? With an explosion of scholarly interest in the concept of mindfulness and its uniqueness from the allied concepts in management learning, the effectiveness of organizational mindfulness interventions need further investigation (Reb and Atkins, 2015). There is a lack of convenient and effective mindfulness interventions that could be applied at the futuristic workplaces (Lomas et al., 2017). We attempt to design and test a self-training mindfulness intervention. In this paper we discuss at the outset the importance of mindfulness in constantly evolving organizations and then outline our research study where the effectiveness of the designed self-training intervention is statistically tested. Our intervention comprises of a 4-week module that was introduced among a group of 117 respondents that included doctors, nurses and medical staff from a government hospital. Their mindfulness scores were recorded before and after the implementation of the 4 weeks’ intervention module using the MAAS (Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale). The results indicate that the mindfulness intervention caused a significant increase in the mindfulness quotient enhancing overall employee wellbeing. This intervention can be an important tool in enhancing the wellbeing of employees in current organizations that are shrouded by high levels of uncertainty and stress. Keywords: Futuristic Workplaces, Mindfulness, Positive Intervention, Wellbeing, Stress

Fear of COVID-19 and Mental Health: The Role of Mindfulness in During Times of Crisis.

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has had a significant impact on all aspects of individuals’ lives, particularly their mental health due to the fear associated with the pandemic. Thus, the current study explored the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and aspects of mental health, namely anxiety and depression, and will consider whether this relationship can be mediated by mindfulness. Data were collected from a student sample of 355 participants (71.5% female and 28.5% male) ranging between 18 and 41 years of age (M = 22.41 ± 3.27), with participants completing a fear of COVID-19 scale (FCV-19S), Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), and the anxiety and depression subscale of the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). In terms of the results, correlational analyses indicated that fear of COVID-19 is inversely associated with mindfulness, while positive correlations were found with anxiety and depression. Structural equation modeling analyses demonstrated that mindfulness mediated the relationship between fear of COVID-19 and depression and anxiety. Associated implications are further discussed.

The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills in Greek Undergraduate and Postgraduate Students.

The Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) is a widely used multidimensional tool for assessing the tendency of the individual to be mindful in everyday life. The aim of the present study was to standardize a Greek version of KIMS and to explore its psychometric properties in the Greek population. A sample of 213 Greek undergraduate and postgraduate students from various educational institutions completed the questionnaires. The Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) were used to evaluate the criterion validity of KIMS. The Principal component analysis (PCA) resulted in a four-component solution, similar to the structure of the English version of the inventory: "Observing," "Describing," "Acting with awareness," and "Accepting without judgment." All components combined accounted for 45.79% of variance. The subscales had adequate internal consistency, and their scores were correlated with MAAS, TAS, and PSS scores, indicating satisfying criterion validity. Associations between the "Observing" subscale and demographic characteristics were also revealed. This version of KIMS can be safely utilized for assessing mindfulness skills and the efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions in Greek populations.

Stress and Quality of Life of Patients with Cancer: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness

Background Cancer is one of the major health problems worldwide, which in addition to physical disorders, causes stress and anxiety in patients and affects the quality of life of cancer patients. Mindfulness can affect stress and improve the quality of life. This research explained the correlation between stress, quality of life, and mindfulness. Materials and Methods Two hundred five cancer patients participated in this cross-sectional study. Patients completed the EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire Core 30 (EORTC QLQ-C30), the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Results Perceived stress and mindfulness predict nearly 39% of the changes of QOL in cancer patients. In addition, perceived stress was negatively associated with mindfulness and quality of life (P < 0.05). Mindfulness was positively correlated with quality of life (P < 0.05). Mindfulness played a mediating role in the relationship between perceived stress and quality of life (standardized β = −0.13; SE = 0.07, 95% confidence interval = −0.28 to −0.01; P value = 0.04). Conclusion In the present study, the variables of mindfulness and perceived stress affected the quality of life of cancer patients. Mindfulness can affect the quality of life of cancer patients directly and indirectly. These results emphasize the importance of mindfulness in the lives of cancer patients.

Religiously oriented mindfulness for social workers: effects on mindfulness, heart rate variability, and personal burnout

ABSTRACT This pilot study explored whether a Moving Pictures Experts Group-3 (MP3) delivery of a Religiously Oriented Mindfulness (ROM) intervention would improve mindfulness, increase cardiac vagal tone, and decrease Personal Burnout for a sample of social workers. To examine the efficacy of such a ROM, pre and posttest data were collected from N = 22 social workers in vivo (at job or university sites) using the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), Heart Rate Variability (HRV), and the Personal Burn-out dimension of the Copenhagen Burnout Scale. Paired-sample t-tests revealed significant differences between pre-and-posttest measures, indicating improvements on all measures with medium to large effect sizes for the MAAS, and HRV, and a smaller effect size for the decrease in Personal Burnout at posttest. ROM is effective in improving mindfulness, increasing HRV, and decreasing Personal Burnout in social workers. The religious nature of this mindfulness intervention, as well as the in vivo nature of this study design is novel in mindfulness studies. The results of this pilot study warrant further exploration of how a religious integration of practices in mindfulness can be effective in improving mindfulness, and self-regulatory function, and preventing burnout in social workers.

Mindful-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) dan Self-Awareness untuk Menurunkan Kecemasan Ibu Hamil Primipara

This study discusses the anxiety of primiparous pregnant women before delivery. Primiparous pregnant women are mothers who first have children, so anxiety often arises. Lack of Self-Awareness in primiparous pregnant women, especially those who experience anxiety has its impact. Self-awareness is the ability of a person to judge and place himself in certain conditions. This topic was taken because of the increasingly widespread anxiety in primiparous pregnant women, which resulted in less optimal pregnancy during the psychological impact. The method used in this study is a single case experiment. Giving Mindful-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is considered effective for reducing anxiety in primiparous pregnant women before delivery. The MBCT session that given relates to inner self-awareness, to increase the participant's self-awareness. Participants' anxiety was measured using the Pregnancy-Related Anxiety Scale (PRAS), while Self-Awareness would be measured using the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS). This study involved 2 participants who received intervention for 4 weeks. The results of the study were analyzed with trend analysis. As a result, both participants experienced decreased anxiety before delivery and increased self-awareness after getting MBCT intervention.

Evaluating the Effectiveness of a Mindfulness App Among Academic Advisors

This yearlong study examined the impact of the 10% Happier phone app on levels of mindfulness and perceived stress among academic advisors. In addition, the study explored whether attending a one-time training session would influence app usage. To date, there is limited research regarding the effectiveness of mindfulness apps on the levels of mindfulness and perceived stress and the impact an in-person mindfulness training has on app usage. In this study, participants were given the choice to attend a one-time training session that included gaining access to the app or receive access to the app without attending training. A quantitative design was used to sample academic advisors (n = 33) at a large, state university in the Midwest. The results showed that in-person training appeared to increase app usage, and paired sample t-tests indicated increased levels of mindfulness on the Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS) and decreased levels of perceived stress on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) among app users. There was no significant difference in changes in levels of mindfulness and perceived stress among those who did not use the app. A final result indicated 85% of participants agreed that practicing mindfulness was beneficial to their self-care and well-being.

The mindful attention and awareness scale is associated with lower levels of high-frequency heart rate variability in a laboratory context.

Trait mindfulness has been associated with well-being. A key component of trait mindfulness is intentional attention and awareness which is most commonly measured by the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS). This study investigated the relationship between the MAAS and cardiovascular (HF-HRV, heart rate) reactivity to two laboratory stressors that evoked different patterns of change in heart rate (HR). One stressor (viewing a video of a surgery) evoked HR deceleration while the other stressor (mental arithmetic) evoked HR acceleration. Undergraduate students completed the MAAS and were then exposed to the two stressors while ECG (electrocardiography) was recorded. Findings support the reliability of the stressors to induce expected differential cardiovascular responses and explicate the role of parasympathetic activation. Further, a main effect for MAAS was observed indicating that across laboratory conditions, persons scoring higher on the MAAS had lower HF-HRV relative to persons scoring lower on the MAAS. These findings suggest that higher levels of intentional attention and awareness in a laboratory context might promote parasympathetic withdrawal because these participants were more vigilant, experienced higher cognitive load, and detected more threat cues. Implications for the MAAS and cardiovascular responses to stress are discussed.