The sustained effect of 5-week EmotionCore mindfulness training on emotion regulation and emotional intelligence: heterogeneous benefits for depression and anxiety across subgroups
Hui Kou, Wei Luo, Yiwei Wang, Jia Wu, Xiaodong Li, Yi-Lin Wu, Qianguo Xiao, Taiyong Bi
Frontiers in Psychiatry July 18, 2025 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1622626 (opens in new tab) via OpenAlex
Summary
AI-generated from the abstractA 5-week EmotionCore mindfulness training program improved adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, emotional intelligence, and trait mindfulness in undergraduates, with gains maintained at one-month follow-up. Improvements in emotion regulation and emotional intelligence fully and sequentially mediated the increase in trait mindfulness. Participants with high baseline anxiety or depression showed greater reductions in anxiety and depression after training compared to those with low baseline symptoms, indicating the program is especially beneficial for high-risk populations.
Study at a glance
| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 120 |
| Population | Undergraduates |
| Intervention | EmotionCore mindfulness training |
| Duration | 5-week intervention, one-month follow-up |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Clinical psychology Trait Mediation |
| Citations | 2 |
| Key finding | EmotionCore mindfulness training enhanced trait mindfulness through improvements in adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and emotional intelligence, with greater anxiety and depression reductions in high-risk participants. |
Abstract
Background: The present study investigated the sustained effects of a 5-week EmotionCore mindfulness training program on emotion regulation, emotional intelligence (EI), trait mindfulness, depression, and anxiety among 120 undergraduates, while exploring the mediating mechanisms of training effect and heterogeneous effects across subgroups. Methods: Participants were randomly assigned to a mindfulness group (n=60) or a waitlist control group (n=60), with assessments conducted at baseline (T1), post-training (T2), and one-month follow-up (T3). Results: Results demonstrated that mindfulness training significantly enhanced adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies (ACERSs), EI, and trait mindfulness at both T2 and T3. Both cross-section and longitudinal mediation models revealed that improvements in ACERSs and EI fully and sequentially mediated the relationship between mindfulness training and trait mindfulness enhancement. Latent Profile Analysis revealed that the high-risk group (high baseline anxiety/depression) exhibited greater reductions in anxiety and depression at T2 and T3 compared to the low-risk group. Conclusion: These findings suggest EmotionCore mindfulness training fosters trait mindfulness through improvements in ACERSs and EI, and its targeted efficacy is specifically notable within high-risk populations.