22847 - The Meditating Effects of Mindfulness on Trait Anxiety [ ]

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From: 2014 International Scientific Conference

22847 - The Meditating Effects of Mindfulness on Trait Anxiety

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The Meditating Effects of Mindfulness on Trait Anxiety
Speaker: Dessa Bergen-Cico, PhD
Format: Audio & Slides

Objective: Research has found meditation to be associated with improved mental health, however less is known about how these positive outcomes develop. To better understand the operant effects of meditation on mental health this study set forth to examine the potential mediating effects of commonly measured constructs of mindfulness and self-compassion on trait anxiety among college students.

Method: This longitudinal study uses a meditation treatment (n=108) and parallel control (n=94) design to examine relational changes in mindfulness, self-compassion, and trait-anxiety among college students engaged in MBSR as part of their curriculum

Results: Structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed significant increases in mindfulness and self-compassion scores among the treatment cohort and cross-lagged regression models revealed significant reductions in trait anxiety were mediated by preceding increases in mindfulness. SEM model testing found that increases in mindfulness precipitate increases in self-compassion but neither self-compassion or anxiety mediated mindfulness. Moreover the specific facets of mindfulness that contributed most significantly to reductions in anxiety were observing and acting with awareness.

Conclusion: Whereas both self-compassion and mindfulness were associated with reductions in anxiety, the cultivation of mindfulness had the most robust mediating effect on reductions in trait anxiety. Among the strengths of the current study are the longitudinal three waves of data, including mid-program data that enables crosslagged regression. The cross-lagged models indicates the temporal ordering of changes and reveals mindfulness as the key mediating variable preceding substantive changes in self-compassion and trait anxiety. The results of this study also demonstrate the feasibility of integrating MBSR into higher education curriculum while yielding improvements in student psychological health.