Scientific Reports
June 4, 2025
Inge Hahne, Julia Segerer, Marco Zierhut et al.
3 citations
Mindfulness is linked to fewer positive and depressive symptoms in people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, and psychological flexibility appears to partly explain how mindfulness relates to negative and depressive symptoms. In a cross-sectional study of 94 adults with these disorders, higher mindfulness scores correlated with lower positive and depressive symptom severity and with greater psychological flexibility. Statistical mediation analyses showed that psychological flexibility significantly mediated the relationship between mindfulness and both negative and depressive symptoms. The findings suggest psychological flexibility may be a mechanism through which mindfulness-based interventions reduce certain symptoms, though longitudinal research is needed to confirm this.
Schizophrenia Bulletin
November 16, 2024
Inge Hahne, Marco Zierhut, Niklas Bergmann et al.
3 citations
A yoga-based group intervention (YoGI) added to treatment-as-usual is feasible and acceptable for inpatients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). In a randomized controlled trial with 50 inpatients, YoGI plus treatment-as-usual showed 95% protocol adherence, 91-94% retention, and a 6% dropout rate. Compared to treatment-as-usual alone, the yoga group had significant improvements in positive symptoms, depression, cognitive fusion, and a mindfulness subscale. Medium-to-large improvements were also seen in body mindfulness, negative and general symptoms, anxiety, stress, quality of life, and attention. No severe adverse events occurred. The findings suggest YoGI may provide benefits beyond standard care, but further robust trials are needed.
medRxiv
July 4, 2026
Marco Zierhut, Max Alt, Inge Maria Hahne et al.
Combining intranasal oxytocin with mindfulness-based group therapy may improve negative symptoms in schizophrenia spectrum disorders. In a pilot study, 47 participants received either oxytocin or placebo before four therapy sessions. Only the oxytocin group showed significant reductions in negative symptoms from baseline to post-intervention and at a 4-week follow-up, with small between-group effects favoring oxytocin at follow-up. No serious adverse events occurred. The findings support further large-scale trials.
Frontiers in Psychology
January 1, 2026
Niklas Bergmann, Ingmar Conell, Inge Hahne et al.
Cognitive fusion—overidentifying with thoughts—undermines psychological flexibility and contributes to poor emotion regulation. This set of three studies tested the Cognitive Fusion Questionnaire (CFQ) in diverse groups. In Study 1, 779 regular meditators completed the English CFQ, which showed excellent internal consistency (α = 0.94) and a strong negative correlation with mindfulness (r = -0.67). In Study 2, 123 patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders completed a German version (CFQ-D), which demonstrated high reliability (α = 0.92) and a moderate negative correlation with mindfulness (r = -0.30). In Study 3, a randomized controlled trial with 38 participants, those receiving mindfulness-based group therapy showed reduced cognitive fusion over time. The CFQ is a reliable, valid measure across clinical and non-clinical samples.
Scientific Reports
September 23, 2025
Daniel Heppt, Niklas Bergmann, Ingmar Conell et al.
In a cross-sectional sample of 779 meditators (average 6.4 years of practice, 69.8% female), mindfulness mediated the relationship between meditation experience and all five personality traits of the Five Factor Model, with the strongest effect on reducing neuroticism. Cognitive fusion, a measure of psychological flexibility, significantly mediated mindfulness's effect on neuroticism and agreeableness, fully mediated its association with conscientiousness, and revealed a previously unidentified pathway fully mediating the link between mindfulness and extraversion. These results suggest that enhanced cognitive flexibility accounts for much of mindfulness's impact on personality, particularly mental wellbeing.
Frontiers in Psychology
September 3, 2021
Niklas Bergmann, Eric Hahn, Inge Hahne et al.
In people with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, higher levels of mindfulness are associated with better quality of life in the domains of physical health, psychological well-being, and environment. Depression, but not anxiety, appears to explain part of this link: mindfulness may improve quality of life partly by reducing depressive symptoms. The findings suggest that mindfulness could be a useful therapeutic process for treating schizophrenia spectrum disorders, though longitudinal studies are needed to confirm causal pathways.