Emphasizing mindfulness training in acceptance relieves anxiety and depression during pregnancy.
Mengye Yang, Xiaoli Zhou, Cuiwei Ye, Junqin Li, Shiwen Sun, Xiaoyan Yu
Psychiatry Research April 1, 2022 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114540 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Randomized controlled trial Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 149 |
| Population | Pregnant people with depressive or anxious symptoms |
| Intervention | Emotional regulation course |
| Duration | 4-week intervention |
| Measures | Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (RESE) |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Key findings | Monitoring with an emphasis on acceptance training significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression and improved perceived self-efficacy in managing depression/distress compared with monitoring training alone and the control group. Monitoring alone showed a downward trend in GAD-7 scores and an upward trend in perceived self-efficacy for managing anger/irritation. |
Abstract
Mindfulness intervention, which trains participants to monitor momentary experiences with an accepting attitude, is effective for reducing maternal anxiety and depression. Monitoring and acceptance are two central components of mindfulness training. The aim of the study is to clarify whether adding acceptance component to monitoring training can help improve the mental health of pregnant people by comparing the effects between mindfulness training on monitoring with an emphasis on acceptance training and training on monitoring alone. Pregnant people with depressive or anxious symptoms (N = 149) were randomized to either a 4-week online intervention of (1) monitoring training (MT), (2) monitoring with an emphasis on acceptance training (MAT), or (3) emotional regulation course conditions as an active control group. All mindfulness training was based on the WeChat platform. We used the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7), Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy Scale (RESE) to evaluate symptoms of anxiety and depression, mindfulness monitoring and acceptance skills, and the self-efficacy of emotional regulation pre-and postintervention. Of the 149 people enrolled in this study, 10 in the MT training group, 9 in the MAT group, and 15 in the control group did not complete the intervention. Monitoring with an emphasis on acceptance training significantly reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression and improved perceived self-efficacy in managing depression/distress compared with the monitoring training alone and the control group. In addition, participants in the monitoring group showed a downward trend in GAD-7 scores and an upward trend in scores of perceived self-efficacy in managing anger/irritation. This study not only shows that the 4-week online mindfulness training could be a promising technique to help people improve mental health; moreover, it provides evidence that emphasizing acceptance skills on mindfulness training may play a critical role because of its positive effects. We suggest that the online mindfulness intervention should be added as part of psychological care and recommend emphasizing acceptance training during pregnancy.
Comparable studies
Other randomized controlled trials on anxiety, most cited first.
Citations in the library
Cited by 7
- The Effect of Digital Mindfulness Interventions on Depressive, Anxiety, and Stress Symptoms in Pregnant Women: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. European Journal of Investigation in Health, Psychology and Education September 1, 2023
- Effect of technology-supported mindfulness-based interventions for maternal depression: a systematic review and meta-analysis with implementation perspectives for resource-limited settings. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth February 13, 2025
- 10-Week Trajectories of Candidate Psychological Processes Differentially Predict Mental Health Gains from Online Dyadic versus Mindfulness Interventions: A Randomized Clinical Trial. Journal of Clinical Medicine June 3, 2024
- Mindfulness for maternal health: A systematic umbrella review of effectiveness for addressing depression and anxiety symptoms Journal of Affective Disorders Reports October 11, 2026
- The Impact of Online Mindfulness Interventions on Postpartum Depression: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing August 1, 2025
and 2 more in the library
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