Investigating the Role of Interpretation Bias in Mindfulness-Based Treatment of Adults With Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Frontiers in Psychology February 11, 2020 Elizabeth A Hoge, Hannah E. Reese, Isabelle A. Oliva et al.
Mindfulness-based interventions are effective for many psychological conditions, but how they work is not well understood. This study examined whether changes in negative interpretation bias—measured by a homophone task—explain the link between mindfulness and anxiety in adults with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Forty-two participants completed measures before and after Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction. Contrary to expectations, no indirect relationship was found between baseline mindfulness and anxiety through negative interpretation bias. Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction did reduce negative interpretation bias from before to after treatment, but changes in mindfulness did not relate to changes in anxiety through changes in interpretation bias. Overall, the results offer minimal support for the proposed pathway.