The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Profiles in the Relationship between Dispositional Mindfulness and Psychological Symptoms
Chusi Xie, Muriel A. Hagenaars, Paul A. Boelen
Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment June 1, 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s10862-025-10227-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study using latent profile analysis and mediation analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 759 |
| Population | 759 participants providing existing cross-sectional data |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Higher dispositional mindfulness was associated with lower depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress symptoms. Four emotion-regulation profiles (Adaptive, Low Adaptive, High Maladaptive, Severe Maladaptive) partially mediated this association, with mediation effects significant across more profile comparisons for depression than for anxiety or posttraumatic stress. |
Abstract
Abstract Dispositional mindfulness plays a crucial role in predicting psychological symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress (PTS). Prior research has shown that emotion regulation (ER) mediated this association. However, a variable-centred approach was typically used, possibly overlooking the heterogeneity in ER strategies among individuals. Our study therefore employed a person-centred approach to identify distinct ER profiles and investigated the mediating role of ER profiles in the association between dispositional mindfulness and various psychological symptoms. Latent profile analysis and mediation analyses were used to analyse existing cross-sectional data from 759 participants. We identified four distinct ER profiles: Adaptive, Low Adaptive, High Maladaptive, and Severe Maladaptive. As expected, the results showed that higher levels of dispositional mindfulness were associated with lower psychological symptoms. Furthermore, ER profiles partially mediated the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and psychological symptoms, with depression showing significant mediation effects across more ER profile comparisons than anxiety and PTS. By examining individual variations in ER strategies, our study provided new valuable insights into the mechanisms through which dispositional mindfulness influences various psychological symptoms.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |
Citations in the library
Cites 8
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Inside the Mindful Mind Current Directions in Psychological Science December 1, 2013
- How Does Mindfulness Training Affect Health? A Mindfulness Stress Buffering Account Current Directions in Psychological Science December 1, 2014
- Testing the mindfulness-to-meaning theory: Evidence for mindful positive emotion regulation from a reanalysis of longitudinal data. PLoS One December 6, 2017
and 3 more in the library