Mindfulness (Psychology)

Mindfulness is known to positively impact behavioral and electrophysiological outcomes of inhibitory executive control following long-term practice. For example, increased accuracy and decreased reaction time, as well as neural markers of increased inhibitory processing. More evidence is emerging demonstrating increased inhibitory control following shorter-term interventions ranging from 3 days to less than 8 weeks. However, findings following single, brief (>1 hour) remain mixed. The current study measured behavioral and EEG changes on a Stroop task in 40 college students following either a 30-minute guided mindfulness meditation or audiobook listening. A breath-counting task (objective measure of mindfulness) was administered to capture the effectiveness of the intervention. Results showed the mindfulness group had trending increased accuracy on the breath-counting task post-intervention compared to controls. Equivalent performance was seen across all Stroop trial conditions regardless of group. Regarding the EEG findings, a between-group effect emerged for congruent N2 voltage at P4 and incongruent N2 voltages at FC1 indicating the mindfulness group had reduced negative voltages across both time points. There was a within-subjects x group interaction for incongruent P3b voltage at Pz; MG increased while controls decreased (opposite of what was expected). This study provides partial evidence for a single, 30-min mindfulness induction in producing a more mindful awareness compared to an audiobook control group. Findings regarding enhanced inhibitory processing following the mindfulness intervention are mixed. Contrary to expectations, our findings implicate the effectiveness of a 30-min mindfulness induction in increased resource recruitment for evaluating incongruent words in absence of behavioral effects.

Recent success of mindfulness-based interventions in adult and clinical populations, as well as in classroom settings, has spurred the need for a more thorough understanding of mindfulness as a trait that can affect early development of self-regulatory characteristics. The current study used previously collected data on 4th and 5th graders to explore the relationships between trait mindfulness, self-regulation, and stress reactivity, measured using cortisol levels. Self-regulation was measured using effortful control (attention, inhibitory control, and activation control), conscientiousness, agreeableness, negative emotion regulation, and openness to experience. Cortisol findings were significant for negative emotion regulation. Results revealed several significant positive associations between trait mindfulness and several self-regulatory characteristics among people who did and did not respond to a stressor. Further research is necessary to tease apart the unique contribution of individual self-regulatory characteristics, including trait mindfulness, on stress reactivity.

The purpose of this longitudinal, quantitative, quasi-experimental study was to explore the effects of a standardized bipartite workshop on counselor trainees’ case conceptualization competency. A secondary purpose was to examine the relationship andeffects of mindfulness, anxiety, personality, and the benefits of the training. Master’s level counselor trainees (N = 121) participated in a two-part workshop (3 hours in length per workshop) designed to teach the integrative case conceptualization model (Sperry, 1989). For each workshop, pre- and post-intervention case conceptualizations were rated by at least two independent raters using the Case Conceptualization Evaluation Form 2.0 (CCEF 2.0). Mindfulness was measured by the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire - Short Form (FFMQ-SF), whereas the State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI) and Big Five Inventory (BFI) were utilized to measure anxiety and personality, respectively.
The differences between the experimental and comparison group’s case conceptualization scores were tested using Welch’s Two Sample t-tests. A significant difference was found between the first workshop’s gain scores of the experimental group (M = 28.32, SD = 10.71) and the comparison group (M = 17.88, SD = 10.54), t(66.31) = 4.17, p < 0.001, CI.95 [5.45, 17.88]; d = 0.98. A similar result was found for the second workshop, there was a significant difference between the experimental group (M = 14.07, SD = 14.29) and the comparison group (M = 6.57, SD = 13.01), t(98.39) = 2.78, p = 0.006, CI.95 [2.15, 12.86]; d = 0.55. A combined anxiety and mindfulness multiple regression provided evidence to support substantial links between anxiety, mindfulness, and case conceptualization F(8, 88) = 8.64, p < 0.001, R2 = 0.44, CI.95[.23, .52]. This model accounted for approximately 44% of the variance of the first (pre-test) case conceptualization scores. Additionally, a moderation effect was detected for anxiety and case conceptualization. There was evidence to suggest that the extraversion personality factor moderates the effect of anxiety on case conceptualization. Post-hoc analyses conducted (cluster analysis) found two significant and unique personality clusters in the data, which were consequently confirmed by discriminant analysis, achieving 90% classification accuracy.

The purpose of this randomized control study was to examine the effects of the use of a mindfulness smartphone app on student self-reported levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, and serum levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The sample included college students enrolled in courses at a university in South Florida. Forty-four students were randomly allocated to either the mindfulness app group (n = 22) or the control group (n = 22).
Participants in the mindfulness app group were instructed to complete a guided meditation on the app for 10 minutes per day for 5 weeks. Participants in the control group were offered the intervention after the 5-week protocol ended. A pretest-posttest design was used to investigate the effects of the mindfulness app intervention on self-reported levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, in addition to serum level BDNF.