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Self-compassion, mindfulness, and psychological inflexibility, constructs associated with mindfulness-based interventions, have demonstrated associations with multiple aspects of psychological health. However, a very limited body of research has analyzed the relative predictive strength among mindfulness-related constructs. Regression analyses were performed to determine the common and unique variance in psychological health predicted by these constructs and to compare their relative predictive strength in a nonclinical sample of 147 undergraduate students at a Mid-Atlantic university. Consistent with previous research, self-compassion demonstrated a stronger ability than single-factor mindfulness to predict variance in psychological health. However, results were mixed when a multifaceted measure of mindfulness was considered. Self-compassion predicted greater variance than multifaceted mindfulness when prediction was based on one total score, but not when individual subscales were analyzed. Psychological inflexibility predicted greater variance than did self-compassion for negative indicators of psychological health. Results suggest that self-compassion and psychological inflexibility may demonstrate greater associations with psychological health than single scores of mindfulness and that important predictive power is lost, particularly from the nonreactivity facet, when multifaceted mindfulness is consolidated into a single score.
This chapter reviews theoretical models, empirical research, and treatment outcome literature connecting different constructs of mindfulness and their individual components to the alleviation of anxiety and anxiety disorders. Both theory and research support an inverse relation between anxiety and aspects of trait mindfulness, particularly those tapping nonjudgment, acceptance, and the absence of mindless states. Outcome studies indicate that mindfulness‐based interventions may be effective in the reduction of symptomatology for subclinical anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder, and social anxiety disorder, while outcome literature for other anxiety disorders is scarce to date. Future outcome studies are needed comparing mindfulness‐based interventions to established cognitive behavioral therapies to determine the relative benefits of each. At the same time, further studies should explore connections between mindfulness constructs derived from Eastern influences and social psychology, the benefits of combining mindfulness‐based interventions with established anxiety treatments, the effectiveness of mindfulness in the individual therapy setting, and the mediators of change at work in mindfulness‐based interventions for anxiety.