Mindfulness最新文献

Objectives

Practitioners in contemplative traditions commonly report experiencing an awareness that is distinct from sensory objects, thoughts, and emotions (“awareness itself”). They also report experiences of a void or underlying silence that is closely associated with this awareness. Subjects who carry out the Headless Way exercises frequently report an experience of emptiness or void at the same time as other contents (void-like experiences). The goals of this study were to (1) assess the reliability of these methods in eliciting the recognition of awareness and void-like experiences in participants who had no prior exposure to these techniques, (2) investigate the prevalence of these experiences in these tasks, and (3) to differentiate these experiences from closely related and potential precursor experiences.

Method

Twenty adults participated in in-depth individual interviews in which they were guided through the Headless Way exercises. A thematic analysis was conducted on the interview transcripts.

Results

Twelve of the participants reported a void-like experience, and five participants reported an experience of awareness itself. These experiences were respectively categorized as subsets of the more general categories of perceptual absences and the sense of not being person-like. Another novel finding was the real-time reports of awareness and void-like experiences during the exercises.

Conclusions

Our findings provide preliminary evidence that the Headless Way exercises can effectively induce experiences of emptiness and awareness in participants without prior experience. The findings suggest that such experiences can be elicited outside of a traditional meditation context, including in non-meditators. Furthermore, the experience of not being person-like and of perceptual absences may be precursors and more general forms of recognizing awareness itself and the void-like nature of the mind.

Preregistration

This study is not preregistered.

Objectives

Psychological distress is common among university students globally. A culturally relevant internet-based mindfulness intervention could be a potential solution for addressing students’ distress in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), including Indonesia. However, internet-based mindfulness interventions are new in Indonesia. In this study, we evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and mental health outcomes of a counsellor-guided, culturally adapted, internet-delivered mindfulness intervention for Indonesian university students experiencing psychological distress.

Method

This open pilot trial used a single-arm pre-post-test design. Indonesian university students with elevated distress (n = 40) enrolled in a 4-week counsellor-guided internet-delivered mindfulness intervention. Participants completed the Indonesian adaptation of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS-21) at screening, baseline, and post-treatment. They also completed the Indonesian version of Kessler’s Psychological Distress Scale (K-10) prior to each lesson, Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and Indonesian Well-Being Scale (IWBS) at baseline and post-treatment, and questionnaires to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and treatment satisfaction.

Results

Results showed the feasibility and acceptability of our guided culturally adapted Indonesian internet-delivered mindfulness intervention, with good completion rates (70%). We also found large and significant improvements in distress, mindfulness, and well-being (Hedges’ g = 0.85–1.68) from pre- to post-treatment. Participants reported that the program was satisfactory.

Conclusions

This study suggested that a counsellor-guided culturally adapted internet-based mindfulness intervention was feasible, acceptable, and associated with improvements in psychological distress, well-being, and mindfulness among university students in Indonesia. A randomized controlled trial with follow-up is needed to evaluate the intervention’s effectiveness.

Preregistration

This trial was preregistered on the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ACTRN12620000135910).

Objectives

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a school-based mindfulness programme (SBMP), “Paws b”, on empathy and prosocial behaviour among children aged 7 to 10 years in a school setting.

Method

This multi-informant design, randomised controlled trial compared an intervention group to a wait-list control group, involving 133 children aged 7- to 10 years from 10 classrooms. Outcome measures were taken at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and 3-month follow-up and included self-reports of mindfulness and empathy, a sharing task, teacher and peer reports of prosocial behaviours, and sociometry measures.

Results

Children in the intervention group were voted as significantly more (a) prosocial by teachers F(1, 127) = 7.35, p = 0.008, η² = 0.055, (b) helpful by peers, F(1, 127) = 9.369, p < 0.003, η² = 0.069, (c) popular by peers, F(1, 127) = 4.90, p = 0.028, η² = 0.037, and (d) showed more reciprocal relationships, t(8) = 2.518, p = 0.036, compared to the wait-list control group. The intervention did not have an effect on mindfulness scores, empathy scores (affective, cognitive, or intention to comfort), or sharing task scores.

Conclusions

Findings suggest that, for 7–10-year-olds, the SBMP, Paws b, delivered by a mindfulness teacher, can increase some aspects of prosociality, as judged by peers and teachers, but has no effect on self-assessed empathy.

Preregistration

This study was preregistered on the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/vm6tp/) on 31.10.2022.

Objectives

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Intervention program of Mindfulness and Compassion against COVID-19 (IMACOCO), an online mindfulness-based intervention (MBI), in enhancing mindfulness, mental health, well-being, and productivity among working individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, the study examined the program’s efficacy in individuals directly impacted by the pandemic through a randomized controlled trial and pre-post program comparisons.

Method

Three hundred working adults, including office workers, educators, and medical welfare workers, were randomly allocated to the intervention or waiting control group. An 8-week online MBI program, with pre-, interim (4 weeks), and post-program (8 weeks) evaluations, was conducted via the Internet; standardized questionnaires were used to assess mindfulness, psychological distress, life satisfaction, and productivity. After the initial 8-week program, the waiting control group participated in the same program and evaluation surveys for pre-post comparisons.

Results

There were 99 participants in the intervention group and 111 in the control group. Significant increases in mindfulness (FFMQ) and life satisfaction (SWLS) as well as decrease in psychological distress (GHQ-12) were observed primarily in the intervention group (Cohen’s d = 0.18–0.52). Furthermore, the pre-post comparisons with 168 participants demonstrated significant improvements in productivity (Cohen’s d = 0.26), and stratified analysis revealed that participants affected by COVID-19 showed more pronounced benefits in mindfulness and life satisfaction than those who were unaffected.

Conclusions

Implementing an online MBI program (IMACOCO) can be a potent strategy to reduce mental stress and enhance overall well-being and resilience, in a disaster-prone world.

Preregistration

This study is not preregistered.

Objectives

The study aimed to examine the effects of an online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program on stress and quality of life levels of family caregivers of cancer patients.

Method

The study used a randomized controlled trial design with a pre-test (T1), follow-up (T2) and post-test (T3) which was conducted with 104 family caregivers of cancer patients. Data collection was conducted using the Caregiver and Patient Descriptive Information Form, Caregiver’s Stress Scale and The Caregiver Quality of Life Index Cancer Scale. T1 measurements were conducted for experimental (n = 50) and control groups (n = 54). After the 8-week online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program of the experimental group, T2 measurements were taken for both groups. Four weeks later, the T3 measurement was collected for both experimental and control groups.

Results

A statistically significant difference over time was detected between the mean Caregiver’s Stress Scale scores of the experimental group in the T1, T2, and T3. There was no significant difference in the control group over time. A statistically significant difference was detected in the mean Caregiver Quality of Life Index Cancer Scale total score of the experimental group across T1, T2, and T3. When the scale pre-test mean scores were compared between the groups, no significant differences were detected for T1, but a statistically significant difference was found between the T2 and T3 scores.

Conclusion

In the study, it was determined that the online Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction program had an effect on reducing stress and improving the quality of life.

Preregistration

The research was registered on http://clinicaltrials.gov (ID:NCT05831293).

Abstract

This commentary on “Mindfulness for global public health: Critical analysis and agenda” seeks to add to the discussion by considering, what are the moral or ethical implications of introducing mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) into public health? An open question should be asked: Do MBIs promote “moral health,” a type of mental well-being based on moral integrity? Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive understanding regarding the moral influences of MBIs on individuals, but more concerning is the complete absence of population or collective-based data. Moreover, the data on the moral influences of MBIs originate from neurotypical, socially advantaged, and homogeneous demographics, so caution is warranted regarding the potential impact on general public’s moral functioning before proceeding. This commentary briefly reviews the existing literature on the relationship between moral functioning and MBIs, then addresses why the unknown effects of moral functioning from mindfulness on a social level are a concern for public health. Following many of Oman’s proposed axes, it then raises questions about what MBIs could do to the moral functioning of certain populations with mental health issues, diverse and disadvantaged populations, and various multi-sector levels throughout society. In some cases, MBIs might need to include ethical adaptations, which add components that explicitly encourage moral development. These adaptations could support protective measures or mitigate moral risk factors. The commentary concludes by suggesting that ethical motivation could be an added axis to Oman’s scheme, as there is an alignment between mindfulness and public health. Nonetheless, it cautions that more research is needed at the population level on the moral influences from MBIs before their widespread implementation in public health.

Abstract

We offer an invited commentary on the article entitled “Mindfulness for Global Public Health: Critical Analysis and Agenda” by Doug Oman. First, we question his proposal that it would be advantageous to include a more diverse set of contemplative practices under the mindfulness umbrella term, and instead we argue for the opposite. We propose that academics move the term mindfulness away from the spotlight, acknowledging the role of popular culture in its constant reshaping, while studying the mechanisms and outcomes of contemplative practices such as mindfulness using better delineated terms from relevant academic disciplines. Second, we argue that a head-to-head comparison between the fields of mindfulness and public health incurs a category error. While mindfulness is often defined by a limited set of specific processes and practices, public health is a field defined by its application, irrespective of the practices or interventions used. Instead, thinking of mindfulness as an aid to public health can bring more clarity and increase the scope and impact of the contributions that the mindfulness field can make to public health. We illustrate how this reframing helps see mindfulness training as a potential individual-level component of multi-level public health interventions to tackle social determinants of health, rather than expect mindfulness training to address this singlehandedly. For this potential to realize fully, we argue that the mindfulness field will need to work “with” rather than “as” public health, moving away from the practitioner-researcher model to a collaborative one, whereby mindfulness intervention developers partner with independent public health researchers for intervention evaluation and implementation purposes. In such a model, using participatory research methods, the public health team should first seek to understand the local community health needs, and assess whether and how mindfulness practitioners may be able to address some of those needs. We are delighted that the field is having these conversations, and hope to advance understanding of the potential of contemplative practices to contribute to public health research and implementation efforts.

Objectives

Past studies indicate that mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) promote mental health for adolescents. However, most adolescents with mental health vulnerabilities do not have access to an MBI. The goal of the current study was to explore the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of scaling out an MBI through a mentoring program targeted at adolescents experiencing multiple adversities.

Method

We conducted a randomized feasibility trial comparing mentoring alone to mentoring plus MBI. Assessments occurred at baseline and post-intervention, including reports gathered from adolescents and their parents.

Results

The addition of an MBI to the mentoring program did not affect attendance, but was associated with small increases in overall program acceptability. Additionally, adolescents who received mentoring plus MBI showed larger improvements in two aspects of emotion regulation (emotional clarity and managing impulsive behaviors during distress), attention problems, externalizing behaviors, and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms. In contrast, adolescents who received mentoring alone demonstrated more favorable change in another dimension of emotion regulation (accessing effective emotion regulation strategies) and internalizing symptoms. Many but not all of these effects were more pronounced when focusing specifically on older, high school–aged adolescents, compared to the effects observed in the entire sample of 10–18-year-olds.

Conclusions

Results suggest that it is feasible, acceptable, and potentially effective to expand MBI via mentoring programs for adolescents at high risk for mental health symptoms.

Preregistration

This study was not preregistered.