Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Specifically Improves Social Anhedonia among Adults with Chronic Stress
Corinne Carlton, Ligia Antezana, Katelyn Mallory Garcia et al. preprint
An 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program reduced social anhedonia in adults with high chronic stress by increasing mindfulness. The effect was fully mediated by changes in mindfulness, meaning MBSR improved social anhedonia specifically through its impact on mindfulness. Other anhedonic domains (e.g., physical or anticipatory pleasure) were not affected. Stress, depression, and negative affect were associated with anhedonic symptoms but did not mediate the relationship. The trial included 68 meditation-naïve adults (average age 32, 62% female) randomly assigned to MBSR or a waitlist control.