The Effectiveness of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy on Positive and Negative Emotions, Sleep Quality, and Rumination in Women with Irritable Bowel Syndrome
Saeedeh Esmaeilzadeh Tarshayeh, Eshagh Samkhaniani
Journal of Cognition, Behavior, Learning 2025 DOI: 10.61838/jcbl.283 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Quasi-experimental pretest-posttest study with control group Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 30 |
| Population | Women diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome referred to hospitals and treatment centers in Nowshahr, Iran |
| Intervention | Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) |
| Duration | Eight 90-minute sessions |
| Measures | Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), Ruminative Response Scale (RRS) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | MBCT produced a significant difference between groups on all outcomes (p<0.001), with adjusted posttest means showing increased positive affect and decreased negative affect, rumination, and sleep disturbances; the authors report a strong intervention effect (η²=0.868) and propose MBCT as a complementary psychological approach for women with IBS. |
Abstract
This study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) on positive and negative emotions, sleep quality, and rumination among women with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). This applied quasi-experimental research used a pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistical population included all women diagnosed with IBS who referred to hospitals and treatment centers in Nowshahr from February 2024 to July 2024 (n=147). A sample of 30 participants was selected through purposive sampling and randomly assigned to experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups. Research instruments included the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (Watson et al., 1988), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (Buysse et al., 1989), and the Ruminative Response Scale (Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991). The experimental group received eight 90-minute MBCT sessions based on Crane’s (2009) protocol. Data were analyzed using multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) in SPSS-27. MANCOVA results revealed a significant difference between the experimental and control groups in all dependent variables—positive affect, negative affect, sleep quality, and rumination (p<0.001). Adjusted posttest means showed that positive affect increased significantly, while negative affect, rumination, and sleep disturbances decreased. The Pillai’s trace value (η²=0.868) indicated a strong intervention effect. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy effectively enhanced positive emotions while reducing negative emotions, rumination, and sleep-related problems in women with IBS. The findings support MBCT as a complementary psychological approach for improving emotional regulation, cognitive processing, and overall well-being in this clinical population.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |