A narrative review of traditional Buddhist and contemporary psychological definitions of mindfulness finds that Buddhist definitions emphasize memory, present-centered awareness, and ethicality, while psychological definitions converge on present-centered awareness, bare attention, and attitudes of acceptance and non-judgment. The authors conclude that conceptual commonality across both traditions is lacking, making a single comprehensive definition difficult. For psychological science, they propose a refined definition: “present-centered awareness of and bare attention to body sensations, affective valence, cognitive and emotional phenomena, and the external environment with an allowing and equanimous attitude.” This definition incorporates four scopes of mindfulness and highlights allowing and equanimity as key qualities.
A randomized controlled trial assigned 234 National Health Service workers to either mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for life (MBCT-L) or a wait-list. MBCT-L reduced stress more than the wait-list, with a medium-to-large effect size, and improved well-being, depression, and anxiety. No effects were found for work-related outcomes. Mindfulness and self-compassion appeared to mediate the stress and well-being improvements. The authors suggest MBCT-L could be an effective component of a broader healthcare worker mental health strategy.
The 39-item and 15-item versions of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) show different factor structures before and after mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) in adults with remitted recurrent depression. Before MBCT, a four-factor model (excluding the Observing facet) best fit the data; after MBCT, a five-factor model fit best. Configural invariance across time was not supported, meaning the questionnaire's structure changes with intervention, which may invalidate direct pre-to-post comparisons. Both versions had adequate internal consistency and sensitivity to change and did not differ in convergent validity. Researchers should consider omitting the Observing subscale when comparing scores before and after mindfulness interventions. The FFMQ-15 is a suitable brief alternative.
Mindfulness, rumination, and worry are significant mediators of the effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on mental health outcomes. A systematic review and meta-analysis of mediation studies found strong, consistent evidence for cognitive and emotional reactivity, moderate and consistent evidence for mindfulness, rumination, and worry, and preliminary but insufficient evidence for self-compassion and psychological flexibility as mechanisms underlying MBIs. The review used two-stage meta-analytic structural equation modelling to quantitatively synthesize evidence for mechanisms with sufficient data. Most reviewed studies had key methodological shortcomings that preclude robust conclusions, but they provide important groundwork for future research.