Mindfulness as measured by self-report includes five component skills: observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging of inner experience, and nonreactivity to inner experience, assessed with the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). The authors examined the construct validity of the FFMQ in experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups. Most mindfulness facets were significantly related to meditation experience and to psychological symptoms and well-being. The relationship between the observing facet and psychological adjustment varied with meditation experience. Several facets independently predicted well-being and mediated the relationship between meditation experience and well-being, supporting the FFMQ's construct validity in these samples.
The relationship between present-moment observation and substance use depends on a person's tendency to be nonreactive. Among 296 undergraduates, higher observation scores were linked to less substance use when nonreactivity was high, but to more substance use when nonreactivity was low. This suggests that merely noticing experiences without also being nonreactive may increase substance use, while combining observation with nonreactivity may be protective.
A 4-week mindfulness-based intervention reduced salivary inflammatory markers IL-6 and TNF-α in college women with elevated depressive symptoms, compared with a contact-control group. Both groups showed similar reductions in self-reported depression. Reductions in IL-6 were sustained at a 3-month follow-up in the mindfulness group. Higher baseline depressive symptoms predicted greater reductions in inflammation among those who received mindfulness training. The findings suggest that mindfulness training may lower inflammatory immune markers commonly linked to depression, possibly protecting against future depressive episodes, though the reductions in inflammation were not explained by changes in depressive symptoms.