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With the mounting evidence for mindfulness training as a promising strategy for distress reduction across clinical and nonclinical populations, it is important to learn more about the kinds of changes associated with this training. In an exposure-based cognitive therapy for depression that includes mindfulness training, participants reported significant increases in mindfulness over the course of therapy. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that change in mindfulness was associated with a linear decrease in depression on self-report and clinical interview measures over the course of therapy. Increases in mindfulness were significantly correlated with reductions in avoidance and rumination, two emotion regulation strategies that are conceptual opposites of mindfulness.
With the mounting evidence for mindfulness training as a promising strategy for distress reduction across clinical and nonclinical populations, it is important to learn more about the kinds of changes associated with this training. In an exposure-based cognitive therapy for depression that includes mindfulness training, participants reported significant increases in mindfulness over the course of therapy. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that change in mindfulness was associated with a linear decrease in depression on self-report and clinical interview measures over the course of therapy. Increases in mindfulness were significantly correlated with reductions in avoidance and rumination, two emotion regulation strategies that are conceptual opposites of mindfulness.
Decentering has been proposed as a potential mechanism of mindfulness-based interventions but has received limited empirical examination to date in experimental studies comparing mindfulness meditation to active comparison conditions. In the present study, we compared the immediate effects of mindful breathing (MB) to two alternative stress-management techniques: progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and loving-kindness meditation (LKM) to test whether decentering is unique to mindfulness meditation or common across approaches. Novice meditators (190 female undergraduates) were randomly assigned to complete one of three 15-min stress-management exercises (MB, PMR, or LKM) presented by audio recording. Immediately after the exercise, participants completed measures of decentering, frequency of repetitive thoughts during the exercise, and degree of negative reaction to thoughts. As predicted, participants in the MB condition reported greater decentering relative to the other two conditions. The association between frequency of repetitive thought and negative reactions to thoughts was relatively weaker in the MB condition than in the PMR and LKM conditions, in which these two variables were strongly and positively correlated. Consistent with the construct of decentering, the relative independence between these two variables in the MB condition suggests that mindful breathing may help to reduce reactivity to repetitive thoughts. Taken together, results help to provide further evidence of decentering as a potential mechanism that distinguishes mindfulness practice from other credible stress-management approaches.
Decentering has been proposed as a potential mechanism of mindfulness-based interventions but has received limited empirical examination to date in experimental studies comparing mindfulness meditation to active comparison conditions. In the present study, we compared the immediate effects of mindful breathing (MB) to two alternative stress-management techniques: progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) and loving-kindness meditation (LKM) to test whether decentering is unique to mindfulness meditation or common across approaches. Novice meditators (190 female undergraduates) were randomly assigned to complete one of three 15-min stress-management exercises (MB, PMR, or LKM) presented by audio recording. Immediately after the exercise, participants completed measures of decentering, frequency of repetitive thoughts during the exercise, and degree of negative reaction to thoughts. As predicted, participants in the MB condition reported greater decentering relative to the other two conditions. The association between frequency of repetitive thought and negative reactions to thoughts was relatively weaker in the MB condition than in the PMR and LKM conditions, in which these two variables were strongly and positively correlated. Consistent with the construct of decentering, the relative independence between these two variables in the MB condition suggests that mindful breathing may help to reduce reactivity to repetitive thoughts. Taken together, results help to provide further evidence of decentering as a potential mechanism that distinguishes mindfulness practice from other credible stress-management approaches.