Therapists in training who completed an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program reported significant declines in stress, negative affect, rumination, and both state and trait anxiety, along with significant increases in positive affect and self-compassion. The enhancement of mindfulness was linked to several of these benefits. The findings suggest that MBSR can be a useful complement to professional training for addressing the mental health needs of future therapists.
A randomized clinical trial tested the mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program for adolescents aged 14 to 18 years with various mental health diagnoses in an outpatient psychiatric setting. Compared to those receiving treatment as usual, adolescents who completed MBSR reported fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and somatic distress, along with improved self-esteem and sleep quality. The MBSR group also showed a higher rate of diagnostic improvement over five months and greater increases in global functioning, as rated by clinicians unaware of treatment assignment. These results suggest MBSR may be a useful addition to standard outpatient mental health care for adolescents.
A measure of mindfulness originally validated for adults, the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), was adapted for adolescents (MAAS-A) and tested in two studies. In 595 healthy 14- to 18-year-olds, the scale showed a single-factor structure, high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and concurrent and incremental validity. In 102 psychiatric outpatients aged 14–18, those randomized to a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention had significant increases in MAAS-A scores from baseline to 3-month follow-up, while treatment-as-usual participants showed nonsignificant changes. Increases in MAAS-A scores were related to beneficial changes in mental health indicators. The MAAS-A appears reliable and valid for normative and mixed psychiatric adolescent populations.
Self-report measures of mindfulness, specifically the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and its adolescent version, are valid tools for assessing mindfulness as an inherent human capacity that varies naturally, not only among trained meditators. The authors argue that attention and meta-awareness are core to mindfulness, and that scores on these scales relate to outcomes similar to those from mindfulness training. Extensive evidence supports the validity of the MAAS and MAAS–A, countering critiques that such measures cannot capture mindfulness or that mindfulness only applies to trained individuals. Construct measurement, though imperfect, is essential for building knowledge and refining interventions.