Nonjudgmental Awareness Research Articles

Mindfulness as a Construct in Urban Dwelling Minority Fifth Graders: Psychometric Properties of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM)

ABSTRACTThe operationalization and conceptualization of mindfulness into Westernized societies have shown certain challenges. Additional attention is needed to demonstrate the ways in which mindfulness is measured in youth and adolescents. This article explored the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure as a reliable and valid measure for youth in a convenience sample of fifth graders who are predominantly minority and living in an urban environment (n = 248). Results from an exploratory factor analysis show that construct validity was established with all 10 items loading on two factors. Unlike the original validation and many subsequent studies that were unidimensional, this study revealed two factors present in this sample: avoidance of feelings and present moment non-judgmental awareness. The model explained 50.37% of the total variance in the examination of mindfulness. The two factors also demonstrated acceptable divergent validity with measures of anxiety (factor 1: r = −0.45; factor 2: r = −0.67) and involuntary responses to stress (factor 1: r = −0.55; factor 2: r = −0.71). Discussion as to why two factors were found in our study, unlike many previous studies, is offered with suggestions for future research outlined.

Helping People by Being in the Present: Mindfulness Increases Prosocial Behavior

While mindfulness originated in Buddhist teachings, the variant studied by Western psychologists and taught in corporations has been secularized. One might suspect that secularized mindfulness - a version of mindfulness from which prescriptions for how to treat others have been removed - would not be effective for promoting prosocial behavior. It is important to explore whether this is the case or not. Secular mindfulness is characterized by focused, nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment and can be cultivated via meditation. The present research tested whether secular mindfulness increases prosocial behavior. Study 1 was a field experiment in India. Employees who had been randomly assigned to engage in a focused breathing meditation were more willing to donate to a coworker in financial distress. Study 2 was a longitudinal field experiment at a US insurance company. Employees who were randomly assigned to a five (5) day brief mindfulness training intervention reported more helping behaviors quantitatively and in daily diaries. Study 3 was an experiment which examined mechanisms of the effects of induced state mindfulness via two different mindfulness inductions, focused breathing and loving kindness meditations, on compassionate responding. We found strong support for empathy and moderate support for perspective taking as mediators of the relationship between mindfulness and prosocial behavior. In contrast to arguments that the removal of Buddhist-based concepts from mindfulness renders it ineffectual to promote interconnectedness and compassion, our results indicate that secular mindfulness can make people more helpful towards others.

Conceptualizing Acceptance in Postdeployment Soldiers

While research on the role of acceptance in psychological well-being and treatment of posttraumatic distress is promising, significant challenges remain in developing a workable conceptualization of acceptance. The current study contributes to a more measureable and functional conceptualization of acceptance in postdeployment soldiers using a latent variable approach. Participants were a large sample of active duty service members who had recently returned from deployment (n = 1, 524). Exploratory factor analysis identified substantial common variance among several facets of acceptance-related measures, including nonjudgmental awareness, acceptance of internal experiences, and not using worry and experiential avoidance to control internal experiences. These results, confirmed with CFA, suggest that acceptance in postdeployment adjustment may be best conceptualized as a combination of awareness, nonjudgment of experience, and the tendency to refrain from using strategies such as worry to avoid feelings and emotions. Additionally, results of structural regression indicated that the latent variable of acceptance was negatively associated with measures of postdeployment maladjustment. These results are discussed in the context of current conceptualizations of acceptance and related constructs, and the burgeoning literature supporting the development and implementation of acceptance-based interventions for potentially traumatized populations.

Mindfulness Meditation Impairs Task Motivation but Not Performance

A state of mindfulness is characterized by focused, nonjudgmental awareness of the present moment. The current research experimentally investigated how state mindfulness influences task motivation and performance, using multiple meditation inductions, comparison conditions, tasks, and participant samples. Mindfulness inductions, relative to comparison conditions, reduced motivation to tackle mundane tasks (Experiments 1–4) and pleasant tasks (Experiment 2). Decreased future focus and decreased arousal serially mediated the demotivating effect of mindfulness (Experiments 3 and 4). In contrast to changes in motivation, inducing a state of mindfulness did not affect task performance, as seen in all experiments but one (Experiments 2–5). Meta-analyses of performance experiments, including unreported findings (i.e., the file drawer), supported these conclusions. Experiment 5’s serial mediation showed that mindfulness enabled people to detach from stressors, which improved task focus. When combined with mindfulness’s demotivating effects, these results help explain why mindfulness does not alter performance.

Service Users Experience of Peer Support in Swedish Mental Health Care: A \u201cTipping Point\u201d in the Care-Giving Culture?

Peer support workers are increasingly considered an essential ingredient in recovery-oriented mental health services. While research continues to point to promising results concerning the ability of these workers to positively impact service users’ experience of hope, quality of life and even health, peer support workers have only recently been introduced in Sweden and the aim of this study was to investigate service users’ experience of receiving peer support in Swedish mental health services. The results were described with three main themes corresponding to three levels of focus from the service user perspective; experience-based knowledge, competence and non-judgmental awareness (individual level), peer support as impacting the relationship with the caring environment (organizational level), and awakening hope for a life beyond the illness (community level). The results suggest the addition of peer support workers as contributing not just to individual outcomes, but to a more trusting relationship to Swedish psychiatric services, which are often considered to work primarily from a medically oriented treatment paradigm.

Mindfulness – en gjennomgang av kunnskapsstatus og relevans for psykologisk behandling [Mindfulness – a review of knowledge status and relevance for psychological treatment

Mindfulness is a non-judgmental awareness of present-moment experience. Since the turn of the 21st century, there has been increasing interest in mindfulness-based approaches in psychological treatment. This narrative review describes what this mental attitude entails and how it may be relevant in the treatment of the common mental disorders depression and anxiety. Treatment research indicates that mindfulness-based interventions reduce the risk of relapse for people with a history of recurrent depression. Such interventions also alleviate ongoing depressive symptoms for those in more acute phases of the disorder. For anxiety disorders, research indicates that mindfulness-based interventions can be as effective as other approaches in the treatment of heterogeneous anxiety disorders and generalized anxiety disorder. For other anxiety diagnoses, however, the approach is not recommended as a first-line treatment. Despite promising results, the quality of research is highly variable, with a preponderance of pilot trials and a lack of 1) studies on basic processes, 2) well-designed randomized controlled trials, and 3) research on implementation in clinical practice. There are also several unanswered questions regarding the definition and measurement of mindfulness, mechanisms of action, and potential aversive effects. Clinical implications of our current knowledge about mindfulness in psychological treatment are discussed.

ONEBird: Integrating Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, and Art Therapy (ONEBird : intégration de la pleine conscience, de l'autocompassion et de l'art-thérapie)

ABSTRACTThis review article explores the interface between art therapy and the growing field of self-compassion. The term ONEBird refers to a model that integrates mindfulness, compassion, and creative expression in an educational, experiential, and therapeutic process. Background information is provided on the integration of self-compassion and mindfulness into effective training programs and a contemporary approach to psychotherapy. Empirical evidence for the protective role of self-compassion is also included. The model provides a framework for discussing the proposed mutual benefit of Mindful Self-Compassion and compassion-focused therapy to the field of art therapy, and the inherent suitability of art therapy for fostering the cultivation of non-judgmental awareness and a desire to alleviate personal suffering. The unique contribution of creative expression is discussed and a rationale for adopting an integrative art therapy model is presented.

Mindful Machine Learning

Abstract. Mindfulness refers to a stance of nonjudgmental awareness of present-moment experiences. A growing body of research suggests that mindfulness may increase cognitive resources, thereby buffering stress. However, existing models have not achieved a consensus on how mindfulness should be operationalized. As the sound measurement of mindfulness is the foundation needed before substantial hypotheses can be supported, we propose a novel way of gauging the psychometric quality of a mindfulness measurement instrument (the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory; FMI). Specifically, we employed 10 predictive algorithms to scrutinize the measurement quality of the FMI. Our criterion of measurement quality was the degree to which an algorithm separated mindfulness practitioner from nonpractitioners in a sample of N = 276. A high predictive accuracy of class membership can be taken as an indicator of the psychometric quality of the instrument. In sum, two findings are of interest. First, over and above some items of the FMI were able to reliably predict class membership. However, some items appeared to be uninformative. Second, from an applied methodological point of view, it appears that machine learning algorithms can outperform traditional predictive methods such as logistic regression. This finding may generalize to other branches of research.

Decentering increases approach motivation among distressed individuals

Decentering is the process of observing one's thoughts from a self-distanced (i.e. third-person) and non-judgmental perspective, and it is clinically known for its anxiolytic and anti-depressive effects. However there is only preliminary evidence relating decentering to improved motivation, and no studies have controlled for changes in affect which can obscure the measurement of motivation (Harmon-Jones, Harmon-Jones, & Price, 2013). In the current investigation, two experiments tested the hypothesis that decentering increases approach motivation, a buoyant state characterized by goal pursuit, independently of changes in affect. In Study 1 (N=148), decentering was induced using a self-distancing manipulation (i.e. fly-on-the-wall; Kross & Ayduk, 2011), and in Study 2 (N=143) decentering was induced using brief instructions on applying non-judgmental awareness of thoughts. Following previous research showing that decentering is most effective against negative emotional reactivity for distressed people (Kross & Ayduk, 2009), our hypothesis focused on high trait distress participants. Trait distress was operationalized as the average of standardized distress-related scales (e.g. rumination, depression, uncertainty aversion), and state affect was operationalized using the Felt Uncertainty Scale and the PANAS. Analyses revealed that decentering increased self-reported approach motivation for high trait distress individuals, and that this effect was not mediated by changes in state affect.

The Role of Mindfulness in Enhancing Self-Care for Nurses

The Role of Mindfulness in Enhancing Self-Care for Nurses

Latent Profile Analysis of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in a Sample With a History of Recurrent Depression.

Extending previous research, we applied latent profile analysis in a sample of adults with a history of recurrent depression to identify subgroups with distinct response profiles on the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and understand how these relate to psychological functioning. The sample was randomly divided into two subsamples to first examine the optimal number of latent profiles (test sample; n = 343) and then validate the identified solution (validation sample; n = 340). In both test and validation samples, a four-profile solution was revealed where two profiles mapped broadly onto those previously identified in nonclinical samples: “high mindfulness” and “nonjudgmentally aware.” Two additional subgroups, “moderate mindfulness” and “very low mindfulness,” were observed. “High mindfulness” was associated with the most adaptive psychological functioning and “very low mindfulness” with the least adaptive. In most people with recurrent depression, mindfulness skills are expressed evenly across different domains. However, in a small minority a meaningful and replicable uneven profile indicating nonjudgmental awareness is observable. Current findings require replication and future research should examine the extent to which profiles change from periods of wellness to illness in people with recurrent depression and how profiles are influenced by exposure to mindfulness-based intervention.

Can mindfulness-based interventions improve the quality of life of patients with moderate/severe alopecia areata? A prospective pilot study

Can mindfulness-based interventions improve the quality of life of patients with moderate/severe alopecia areata? A prospective pilot study

A Case Study of Individually Delivered Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Severe Health Anxiety

Health anxiety involves persistent worry about one's physical health, despite medical reassurance. Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is currently the most widely used, evidence-based treatment for health anxiety. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is an evidence-based cognitive-behavioral treatment approach that may be useful for health anxiety due to its focus on nonjudgmental awareness and acceptance of physical and emotional events. MBCT has largely been evaluated in a group format; however, the majority of outpatient CBT providers rely also on individual treatments. No research to date has examined the utility of MBCT delivered as an individual therapy for patients with health anxiety. The purpose of the current case study is to describe the delivery, acceptability, and effects of an individually delivered mindfulness-based cognitive-behavioral intervention on health anxiety symptoms for a young woman with severe health anxiety referred to outpatient behavioral medicine by her primary care provider. The treatment was a 16-session, patient-centered intervention largely delivered using MBCT techniques, supplemented by traditional cognitive-behavioral techniques. The patient completed a validated self-report measure of health anxiety symptoms (SHAI) at the beginning of each session. The treatment was found to be acceptable, as evidenced by high treatment attendance and patient feedback. The patient reported significant cognitive, affective, and behavioral improvements, including a 67% reduction in medial visits. Health anxiety scores on the SHAI showed a 52% decrease from the first to last session, reliable change index score of 12.11, and fell below the clinical cutoff at the final session, demonstrating clinical significance. These results suggest that it is feasible to adapt MBCT for the individual treatment of health anxiety, and that controlled trials of individual MBCT are warranted.

Listening to classical music results in a positive correlation between spatial reasoning and mindfulness.

Music, an orderly arrangement of sound consisting of melody, harmony, rhythm, tone, and pitch, has been used to impact mental processes and influence physical conditions for centuries (Gick, 2011; Sinex, Guzik, Li, & Henderson Sabes, 2003). Responses to musical stimuli vary and are subject to previous experiences and sociocultural influences (Peretz, 2006). Thus, music has a very personal meaning and may elicit an individual reaction from each listener. Music also may have either a calming or stimulating effect depending on the tempo (fast or slow) or genre (classical music and other types; Koelsch & Siebel, 2005; Patel, 2003). I the present study, classical music is defined as music written in the European tradition during a period lasting approximately from 1750 to 1830, when forms such as the symphony, concerto, and sonata were standardized. This music genre is often contrasted with baroque (c. 1600-1750) and romantic (c. 1804-1910) music eras and includes composers such as Antonio Vivaldi, Johann Sebastian Bach, George Frideric Handel, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Ludwig van Beethoven. Classical music along with other music types has been used as adjunct therapeutic interventions in a variety of practical settings. Some professionals define music therapy as the controlled use of music, its elements, and its effects on human beings to produce changes in physiology, behavior, thoughts, and emotions or to support the physiological, psychological, and emotional integration of the individual during treatment of an illness or disability (Guzzetta, 1989; Maranto, 1991; Munro & Mount, 1978; Wigram, Pedersen, & Ole Bonde, 2002). Music therapists, working in community mental health centers, medical hospitals, psychiatric institutions, schools, nursing homes, and correctional facilities as well as other settings (Silverman, 2015; Thaut, 2000), are trained to assess cognitive skills, physical health, emotional well-being, social functioning, and communication abilities through responses to musical stimuli. These skilled professionals also are trained to design music interventions for individuals and groups based on client (children, adolescents, adults, and elders) needs as well as follow up progress (Thaut, 2005; Wheeler, 2015).Spatial reasoning involves mentally maintaining and transforming mental images in the absence of a physical representation of the actual figure, object, pattern, or structure. The ability to engage in spatial reasoning by mentally manipulating objects or physically navigating through space has wide implications in many academic and professional disciplines as well social and recreational activities. The spatial ability to mentally rotate objects is required for performing tasks (such as playing chess, computing mathematical equations, and solving engineering problems) that recruit executive (higher-order) brain functions (Goodwin & Johnson-Laird, 2005; Johnson, 2008). Spatial reasoning accounts for an essential part of the thinking process of mathematicians, computer scientists, engineers, architects, designers, artists, sculptors, and inventors because they need to understand and interpret qualitative information in graphs and models in order to gain critical understanding of the problems at hand.The psychological construct mindfulness has received a great deal of attention over the past several decades. The concept of mindfulness has roots in Buddhist and other contemplative traditions where conscious attention and nonjudgmental awareness are actively cultivated (Brown & Ryan, 2003; Siegel, 2007a, 2007b). It is most commonly defined as the state of being attentive to and aware of what is taking place in the present moment without viewing the situation as good or bad (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, 2003, 2004). Because the original purpose of mindfulness was to alleviate suffering and foster compassion, this meditation technique has been used successfully in medical and clinical practice (Kabat- Zinn, 2005; Santorelli, 1999). …

Mechanisms of mindfulness: The dynamics of affective adaptation during open monitoring

Mindfulness – the nonjudgmental awareness of the present experience – is thought to facilitate affective adaptation through increased exposure to emotions and faster extinction of habitual responses. To test this framework, the amplification of the Late Positive Potential (LPP) by negative relative to neutral images was analyzed across stimulus repetitions while 37 novices performed an open monitoring mindfulness exercise. Compared to two active control conditions where attention was either diverted to a distracting task or the stimuli were attended without mindfulness instructions, open monitoring enhanced the initial LPP response to negative stimuli, indicating increased emotional exposure. Across successive repetitions, mindfulness reduced and ultimately removed the affective LPP amplification, suggesting extinction of habitual emotional reactions. This effect arose from reduced negative as well enlarged neutral LPPs. Unlike stimuli from control conditions, the images previously viewed with mindfulness instructions did not elicit affective LPP amplification during subsequent re-exposure, suggesting reconsolidation of stimulus meaning.

Mindfulness, stress coping and everyday resilience among emerging youth in a university setting: a mixed methods approach

Mindfulness is defined as non-judgmental awareness in the present lived experience. Researchers find that mindfulness training has benefits such as enhanced positive emotions, reduced stress and increased well-being. However, empirical research on the effectiveness of mindfulness curricula on emerging adults in educational settings is sparse. The present study takes a step towards filling this gap by examining The role of mindfulness communication in improving stress coping among young people. Specifically, this study used a mixed methods approach combining qualitative journaling with a pre-test post-test experiment to understand how a mindfulness-based communication course improves everyday resilience for first-year college students. Preliminary findings suggest that participants exposed to mindfulness communication training experience more positive emotions and report lesser perceived stress. Further research is needed to better understand the relationships among mindfulness communication, stress coping and academic buoyancy.

Mindful Energy Psychology: History, Theory, Research, and Practice

Abstract: The dialectic between acceptance and the desire for change reflects a core paradox within psychology. Two clinical methodologies that at first glance appear to be diametrically opposed have been incorporated into an approach that harnesses a reciprocal synergy, seamlessly integrating a focus on acceptance with a focus on change. Mindfulness practices, which involve purposeful, nonjudgmental awareness and acceptance of the present moment, have been shown to promote general well-being as well as to alleviate many psychological and stress-related symptoms. Energy psychology, which utilizes both somatic and cognitive interventions, is believed to rapidly and with precision change the energetic and neurological underpinnings of a range of psychological disorders. Combining the two approaches into a “mindful energy psychology” resolves the acceptance/change paradox with an interplay that yields immediate, potent therapeutic benefits. This paper examines each approach and shows how they may be integrated into clinical practice. Keywords: mindful, mindfulness, mindfulnessbased therapies, energy psychology, mindful energy psychology, tapping, energy tapping, meridian tapping, Thought Field Therapy, TFT, Emotional Freedom Techniques, EFT, Midline Energy Technique, MET, Tonglen, trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder, PTSD

Mindfulness-Meditation-Based Pain Relief Is Not Mediated by Endogenous Opioids.

Endogenous opioids have been repeatedly shown to be involved in the cognitive inhibition of pain. Mindfulness meditation, a practice premised on directing nonjudgmental attention to arising sensory events, reduces pain by engaging mechanisms supporting the cognitive control of pain. However, it remains unknown if mindfulness-meditation-based analgesia is mediated by opioids, an important consideration for using meditation to treat chronic pain. To address this question, the present study examined pain reports during meditation in response to noxious heat and administration of the opioid antagonist naloxone and placebo saline. The results demonstrate that meditation-based pain relief does not require endogenous opioids. Therefore, the treatment of chronic pain may be more effective with meditation due to a lack of cross-tolerance with opiate-based medications.

Mindfulness during romantic conflict moderates the impact of negative partner behaviors on cortisol responses

This study was designed to test whether romantic partners' mindfulness—present moment, nonjudgmental awareness—during a conflict discussion could buffer the effects of negative partner behaviors on neuroendocrine stress responses. Heterosexual couples (n=88 dyads) provided 5 saliva samples for cortisol assay during a laboratory session involving a conflict discussion task. Conflict behaviors were coded by outside observers using the System for Coding Interactions in Dyads, and partners rated their mindfulness during the task using the Toronto Mindfulness Scale. Interactions tested using multilevel modeling revealed that participants with higher levels of mindfulness during the conflict showed either quicker cortisol recovery or an absence of slowed recovery in the presence of more negative partner behaviors. Whereas the attitudinal component of mindfulness (curiosity) moderated effects of negative partner engagement in the conflict (i.e., attempts to control, coerciveness, negativity and conflict), the attentional component of mindfulness (decentering) moderated the effect of partner disengagement (i.e., withdrawal). These findings lend support to the idea that mindfulness during a stressful interaction can mitigate the physiological impacts of negative behaviors.

The efficacy of a Mindfulness Based Intervention for depressive symptoms in patients with Multiple Sclerosis and their caregivers: study protocol for a randomized controlled clinical trial

BackgroundMultiple Sclerosis has a great impact on psychological functioning of patients and can be associated with various mental health disorders and symptoms. The most prevalent one is depression, which ranges from 15 to 47 %.Mindfulness Based Interventions are a relatively brief and cost-effective program that has been studied in patients with several chronic diseases and recently also in patients with Multiple Sclerosis. Mindfulness Based Interventions are based on the assumption that a non-judgmental awareness and acceptance of one’s moment-to-moment experience can have a positive effect on the adaptation to the disease, reducing the psychological burden and improving patients’ quality of life.Several studies concluded that Mindfulness Based Interventions can be beneficial in terms of improving both psychological and psychical aspects of Multiple Sclerosis, but none of them compared the intervention with an active control group. The primary objective of the study is to evaluate the efficacy of a group-based Mindfulness Based Intervention on depressive symptoms in patients with Multiple Sclerosis, as compared with an active control group.MethodsThe study design is a randomized controlled clinical trial. Eighty-eight patients with Multiple Sclerosis and depressive symptoms will be recruited and randomized to either Mindfulness Based Intervention or an active control group. The latter is designed to control for non-specific elements of the intervention and it comprises psycho-education and relaxation techniques. The primary outcome is the reduction of depressive symptoms as measured via the Beck Depressive Inventory-II. Secondary outcome measures are level of quality of life, anxiety, perceived stress, illness perception, fatigue and quality of interpersonal relationship. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, after treatment and 6 months after the end of the treatment. Caregivers will participate in groups together with patients.DiscussionAs far as we know this trial will be the first randomized controlled trial testing the efficacy of group-based Mindfulness Based Intervention for patients with Multiple Sclerosis with a comparison with an active control group with a specific focus on depressive symptoms.Trial registrationNCT02611401.