Mindfulness最新文献

Objectives

Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) has been shown to decrease general feelings of distress. It is not known to what extent such beneficial effects are associated with attenuation of physiological responses to challenging psychological situations. The aim of the present study was to examine potential associations between general decreases in subjective distress and changes in acute cardiac and cortical responses during recall of a recent stressful episode between pre- and post-MBSR.

Method

Fifty-eight MBSR participants (77.6% female, mean age 43.8 years, SD = 13.1) took part in a laboratory examination before and after MBSR. Measurements of the electrocardiogram (ECG) and electroencephalogram (EEG) were performed during the whole protocol including the stress recall task.

Results

The MBSR group showed overall decreases in general negative affect and an increase in heart rate variability from pre- to post-intervention. Out of six physiological outcomes (heart rate, heart rate variability, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma power at Fz), only a decreased response of gamma power during the stress task was significant. The subjective and physiological changes were unrelated.

Conclusions

The present results suggest that the favourable effects of MBSR on general stress reduction may not be clearly reflected in cortical electrical wave activity or vagal cardiac response during recall of a recent stressful episode. The few changes found in cardiac and cortical activity may be due to either effects independent of general subjective feelings or independent of the intervention altogether.

Preregistration

The study is not preregistered.

In this conceptual contribution, we argue that experimental investigations of phenomena in the cognitive sciences and consciousness research may benefit from a thorough integration of data acquired from the first-person perspective. We present a line of research from our lab applying this approach to the Libet task on voluntary action. In this well-known experimental paradigm, participants perform a movement at a moment of their own choice. Previous research has shown that this voluntary decision to perform the action is preceded by a specific pattern in the electroencephalogram, the so-called readiness potential. This finding that the decision is preceded (and presumably determined) by an action-related brain processes puts the neuroscientific account at odds with our subjective intuition and challenges the notion of free will. This discrepancy exemplifies the gap between neuro-cognitive models of the mind and the accounts of our conscious experience. The aim of our theoretical proposal is to enrich the study of volitional action by integrating reports from the first-person perspective with the Libet paradigm to develop a more coherent account. This provides an example of implementing the research program of neurophenomenology developed by Francisco Varela to overcome the gap between scientific accounts of the mind and subjective experience. Specifically, we show how this can be achieved by interweaving three methodological approaches: (i) adapting common neuro-cognitive paradigms (i.e., the Libet task); (ii) employing refined first-person methods such as the micro-phenomenological interview; and (iii) collaborating with experienced meditators as research participants. Our contribution demonstrates how the neurophenomenological framework can be used to shed new light on long-standing and fundamental debates in consciousness research. We show that this approach not only addresses questions of intellectual curiosity but also has concrete ethical implications for the practice of science itself, self-determination, and the accountability of the conscious subject. On the basis of our approach, meditation can be seen as a method for enhancing self-regulation and self-determination, which allows for more deliberate decisions and thus more ethical behavior.

Objectives

This study sought to identify the temporal order in which mindfulness facets develop during Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and the effect of early changes on later changes in these facets and their relation to changes in depression, anxiety, and stress.

Methods

This longitudinal study of 147 adults participating in a MBSR program examined relationships between components of mindfulness, self-compassion and measures of depression, anxiety, and stress. Self-report measures were administered pre-course, mid-course, end-of-course, and 3-months post-course.

Results

Initial improvements in decentering, non-reactivity, and self-compassion were observed early in the MBSR course (p-values < 0.05), followed by later changes in observing, acting with awareness, and nonjudging. Bivariate latent growth curve modelling suggested changes in the mindfulness components of decentering and nonreactivity coincided with decreases in anxiety and stress (p-values < 0.05). However, in a path analysis, changes in self-compassion appeared to uniquely contribute to changes in depression and anxiety, over and above the effects of other mindfulness components (p-values < 0.05). These changes in self-compassion were associated with simultaneous and precursory change in non-reactivity and non-judgment.

Conclusions

These findings elucidate the possible temporal order of change in mindfulness facets through MBSR. Self-compassion may be a prominent mechanism of change in the MBSR program, along with non-reactivity and decentering. However, additional longitudinal research is needed with alternate model specifications to confirm the proximal role of self-compassion in longitudinal symptom change. Results are tempered by a relatively short period of longitudinal observation with a possible nonresponse bias.

Preregistration

Because the trial was conceived prior to 2009, pre-registration was not possible. However, the trial was registered on anzctr.org.au after data collection and analysis. [Title: “Mechanisms of mindfulness: A longitudinal observational study of the effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on depression, anxiety, and stress among participants in a MBSR program”, Identifier: ACTRN12623000485639].

Changing behavior has been a challenge for thousands of years. This issue has been exacerbated in modern times as substances (e.g., drugs and food) are becoming increasingly refined and tweaked to increase their addictive potential. Behavioral addictions have also come to the fore as advances in neuroscience have made it possible for companies to pinpoint and advertise “pain points” in society (e.g., physical and emotional pain, boredom, social comparison), offering distraction and escape as relief in various forms ranging from video games to social media. And in an age of relative abundance and availability, even food is engineered and designed for overconsumption, leading to overeating, overweight/obesity, and poor mental and physical health. Modern solutions (e.g., Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) have failed to adequately address our collective “bad” habits and addictions as overeating, anxiety, and addiction continue to increase. Over the past several decades, ancient Buddhist theories that directly target reinforcement learning have begun to be tested in research and clinical settings. In this commentary, I give a brief first-person historical account of the merging of Buddhist theory, clinical practice, and research that suggests that such approaches could offer more effective strategies for improving health outcomes compared to current treatment paradigms that focus on cognitive restructuring and willpower.

Objectives

Mindfulness and impulsivity traits are considered to be important aspects of mental well-being and health. These traits are often seen as opposing concepts, yet the nature of the relationship between them is unclear, mainly because they are complex to define. The aim of this research was to investigate the relationship between impulsivity and mindfulness, taking into account the impact of mindfulness meditation experience on this connection.

Method

A total of 174 mentally and physically healthy young adults were assigned to either a non-meditation group or a meditation group based on their experience in meditation practices. Participants completed self-report scales to evaluate their impulsivity and mindfulness traits.

Results

Trait impulsivity scales and dysfunctional impulsivity were negatively correlated with trait mindfulness, while functional impulsivity was positively correlated with trait mindfulness. While meditation practice significantly predicted trait mindfulness, its moderating effect on the relationship between impulsivity and mindfulness was limited.

Conclusions

The varying relationship between impulsivity subscales and trait mindfulness, together with the relatively limited association between meditation practice and these personality traits, emphasizes the importance of considering different aspects of impulsivity and acknowledging how individual differences affect the relationship between impulsivity and mindfulness.

Preregistration

This study is not preregistered.

Objectives

Tinnitus is the perception of sound in the absence of an external source and is experienced by up to 15% of the general population. There are many causes of tinnitus, but no cure is currently available. It has significant comorbidities with clinical anxiety, depression, and insomnia, and degrades quality of life in 1–2% of society at large. Currently, psychological interventions are the best way forward in assisting tinnitus habituation, but treatment availability and suitable experience to deliver such interventions are limited.

Methods

One hundred five individuals with chronic tinnitus took part in this study. An 8-week programme of guided online meditations focused on mindfulness was compared with a waiting list control group. Intervention outcomes were assessed by changes to tinnitus distress (Tinnitus Functional Index), tinnitus cognitions (Tinnitus Cognitions Questionnaire), and mindful awareness (Mindful Attention Awareness Scale).

Results

As hypothesised, the online intervention saw clinically meaningful reductions in tinnitus distress for 30% of our sample (16 participants). Furthermore, the intervention saw significant increases in mindful awareness and significant reductions in negative thoughts about tinnitus, when compared with waiting list controls. There were no significant changes in positive thoughts about tinnitus. Twenty-one participants failed to complete the study and were considered “no change” as per intention-to-treat (ITT) paradigms.

Conclusions

In the absence of accessible psychological interventions, online mindfulness programmes including body scans are recommended for individuals with tinnitus as an effective and low-cost self-help tool. Reductions in negative thoughts around tinnitus are considered key to living alongside the condition (i.e. tinnitus habituation). Suggestions are made for improving future adherence rates, including recommendations for investigation in conjunction with other interventions.

This paper offers a commentary on Oman’s article, “Mindfulness for Global Public Health: Critical Analysis and Agenda.” We focus on engaging and extending some of Oman’s questions and ideas about connections between mindfulness and intercultural and interreligious competence, and we make applications to the personal and professional formation of helping professionals (e.g., mental health professionals, clergy). Mindfulness is considered in relation to a dialectical emphasis on both intercultural (or diversity) competence and humility with connections to the cultural humility literature. This leads us to question whether mindfulness could be framed as a virtue, a capacity and practice that facilitates virtues (e.g., humility), or both. A brief summary of related research on virtues, spiritual practices, and intercultural competence is offered to frame some key future research questions. Like some other commentary articles in this series, we engage aspects of religious diversity in relation to mindfulness-based practices. But our unique contribution includes the application of a specific developmental model of interreligious competence to the use of mindfulness by helping professionals. We illustrate differing interreligious orientations toward mindfulness and the potential impact of each orientation on professional practice. The final section offers some contextualization of these interreligious orientations within religious minority communities using Jewish communities as an example by further probing of one of Oman’s sources on Jewish mindfulness.

Objectives

Previous research has shown the capacity for mindfulness to be strongly associated with psychological well-being, that components of mindfulness show significant growth through young adulthood, and that this developing, malleable capacity is vital as individuals learn to deal appropriately with negative thoughts and unwelcome emotions. Smartphones, typically used in an automatic or experientially avoidant way, can undermine this development, leading to a decreased capacity for mindfulness. The purpose of these studies were to examine the extent to which smartphone use is negatively associated with young adults’ mindfulness and the degree to which increased cognitive and behavioral involvement with smartphones may exacerbate this relation using a newly developed conceptual model.

Method

Study 1 was conducted using self-report measures of mindfulness among a cross-sectional sample of university students aged 18–20 years (n = 668). Study 2 augmented Study 1 using objective measures of smartphone screen time and the cognitive regulatory components of mindfulness in a planned missingness design.

Results

Results indicate smartphone involvement (a compulsive pattern of use and cognitive preoccupation with one’s smartphone) to be significantly associated with lower trait mindfulness. Additionally, exploratory analysis of smartphone involvement as a mediator of the effect of smartphone use on mindfulness demonstrated a significant estimated indirect effect.

Conclusion

These results provide preliminary empirical support for the newly proposed conceptual model which posits associations between mindfulness and the use of smartphones in a cognitively and behaviorally involved way.

Preregistration

This study is not preregistered.

Objectives

Rumination, a risk factor for the development of psychopathology that often emerges during adolescence, has been successfully targeted in mindfulness interventions; however, the mechanism is unclear. Acquiring mindfulness skills may help reduce repetitive ruminative thinking and in turn alleviate negative emotions. The goal of the present study was to test whether changes in trait mindfulness accounted for the reductions in rumination following a brief mindfulness intervention.

Method

Ruminative adolescents (n = 152; 59% girls, 18% racial/ethnic minority, mean age = 13.72, SD = 0.89) were randomly assigned to use a mobile app 3 times per day for 3 weeks that delivered brief mindfulness exercises or a mood monitoring only control. They completed questionnaires to assess rumination, mindfulness, and depression at baseline, post-intervention and follow-up at 6 weeks, 12 weeks, and 6 months post-intervention.

Results

We ran a parallel causal mediation model with bootstrapping to examine whether changes in facets of mindfulness (Nonjudgment, Nonreactivity, Describe, Awareness, Observe) mediated the effect of treatment group on change in rumination. A significant indirect effect of Treatment Group on Rumination emerged through Nonjudgment. Next, we ran a serial mediation model predicting depressive symptoms during the follow-up period (12 weeks and 6 months post-intervention) from Treatment Group through Nonjudgment (immediate post-intervention) and rumination (at 6 weeks post-intervention). Results from this model were significant.

Conclusions

Our findings suggest that a brief mindfulness intervention increases nonjudgmental awareness, thereby reducing rumination and subsequent depressive symptoms. Understanding these mechanisms may help tailor interventions for at-risk youth.

Preregistration

This study was registered with Clinicaltrials.gov (Identifier NCT03900416).

Objectives

Repetitive negative thinking (RNT) is a problematic thinking style that is related to multiple mental disorders. Detached mindfulness is a technique of metacognitive therapy that aims to reduce RNT. Our study set out to investigate the immediate effects of detached mindfulness in daily life.

Methods

Participants with elevated trait RNT (n = 50) were prompted to engage in detached mindfulness exercises three times a day for 5 consecutive days. Immediate effects on RNT and affect were assessed 15 and 30 min after each exercise using experience sampling methodology. We compared the effects of this exercise phase to (1) a 5-day non-exercise baseline phase and (2) a different group of participants that engaged in an active control exercise (n = 50).

Results

Results of Bayesian multilevel models showed that, across groups, improvements in RNT, negative affect, and positive affect were stronger during the exercise phase than during the non-exercise baseline phase (RNT after 15 min: b = -0.26, 95% CI = [-0.38, -0.14]). However, the two exercise groups did not differ in these improvements (RNT after 15 min: b = 0.02, 95% CI = [-0.22, 0.27]). Thus, the detached mindfulness and the active control exercises resulted in similar effects on RNT and affect in daily life.

Conclusions

Results of this study imply that there was no additional benefit of having participants observe their thoughts detached and non-judgmentally, compared to excluding these assumed mechanisms of action as done for the active control group. We discuss possible reasons for the non-difference between the groups.

Preregistration

This study was preregistered at https://osf.io/rze64.