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Negative humor styles are associated with rumination, aggression, and suicidal ideation. BPD features are positively associated with negative humor styles; however, few studies have identified factors that mediate this relationship. The present study examines mindfulness skills as a mediator of the link between BPD features and negative humor styles, in a sample of undergraduate students (N = 197), many reporting clinically significant levels of BPD features. Significant indirect effects suggest that individuals with higher BPD features engage in more aggressive humor style partially due to lower levels of nonreactivity. However, individuals with higher BPD features engage in more self-defeating humor style partially due to lower levels of acting with awareness. Higher BPD features were related to less positive humor styles partially due to low describe scores. These findings suggest that different facets of mindfulness skills may assist in decreasing negative and increasing positive humor styles.
The pain of rejection is a crucial component of normal social functioning; however, heightened sensitivity to rejection can be impairing in numerous ways. Mindfulness-based interventions have been effective with several populations characterized by elevated sensitivity to rejection; however, the relationship between mindfulness and rejection sensitivity has been largely unstudied. The present study examines associations between rejection sensitivity and multiple dimensions of dispositional mindfulness, with the hypothesis that a nonjudgmental orientation to inner experiences would be both associated with decreased rejection sensitivity and attenuate the impact of sensitivity to rejection on general negative affect. A cross-sectional sample of undergraduates (n = 451) completed self-report measures of rejection sensitivity, dispositional mindfulness, and trait-level negative affect. Significant zero-order correlations and independent effects were observed between most facets of dispositional mindfulness and rejection sensitivity, with nonjudging demonstrating the largest effects. As predicted, rejection sensitivity was associated with negative affectivity for people low in nonjudging (β = .27, t = 5.12, p < .001) but not for people high in nonjudging (β = .06, t = .99, p = .324). These findings provide preliminary support for mindfulness, specifically the nonjudging dimension, as a protective factor against rejection sensitivity and its effects on affect.
The symptoms of borderline personality disorder (BPD) have been characterized as deficits in mindfulness. Mindfulness can be defined as nonjudgmental, present-centered awareness. The present study investigates the theory that, consistent with this conceptualization, the extent to which acting with awareness predicts reduced BPD features and related dysfunction depends upon levels of nonjudgment. In a sample of 223 undergraduates, we calculated the interaction between awareness-based and nonjudging-based mindfulness skills using subscales of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Regression analyses demonstrated a significant effect of the interaction on several difficulties that are common in BPD: problems with relationships, emotion-related impulsivity, and anger rumination. For acting with awareness to benefit individuals with these difficulties, a less judgmental stance toward internal experiences may be necessary. These findings have significant treatment implications and demonstrate the importance of assessing mindfulness as a multifaceted, synergistic construct.