Mindfulness, Interpretation Bias, and Levels of Anxiety and Depression: Two Mediation Studies

Across two online surveys, greater dispositional mindfulness and acceptance were consistently linked to smaller cognitive interpretation bias and lower depression and anxiety symptoms. Interpretation bias mediated the relationship between mindfulness and acceptance, on one hand, and depression and anxiety symptoms on the other. The findings provide insight into how mindfulness-based treatments may reduce internalizing psychopathology.

Study at a glance

Abstract

In two studies, a possible mediation effect was tested of cognitive interpretation bias in the relation between respectively dispositional mindfulness and acceptance, on the one hand, and symptoms of depression and anxiety, on the other hand. An undergraduate student sample (N = 133; 86% female, Mage = 19.8) and a convenience community sample (N = 186; 66% female, Mage = 36.5) were examined by means of an online questionnaire measuring dispositional mindfulness (FFMQ-SF; Study 1) and acceptance (AAQ-II; Study 2), anxiety (STAI-trait) and depressive (BDI-II) symptoms, and interpretation bias (with the interpretation bias task, IBT). Considering both studies, results showed consistently the expected relations of larger mindfulness skills going together with a smaller cognitive interpretation bias and lower levels of depression and anxiety symptoms. More interestingly, it was found that interpretation bias served as a mediator in the relations between respectively dispositional mindfulness and acceptance, and symptoms of depression and anxiety. With these findings, some more insight in the working mechanisms of mindfulness-based treatments on internalizing psychopathology has been obtained.