Exploring Relationships Between Dispositional Mindfulness and Personality and the First Onset of Internalizing Disorders
Athina Spiropoulos
Libraries and Cultural Resources August 30, 2026 DOI: 10.11575/prism/51919 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cohort Longitudinal Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 186 |
| Population | Adolescents with a family history of mood or anxiety disorders but no personal lifetime history of such disorders (C-BRAID study) |
| Duration | 9- and 18-month follow-ups |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Greater self-acceptance predicted lower odds of first onset of both mood and anxiety disorders after adjusting for age, sex, and past symptoms. Four dispositional profiles emerged, with maladaptive profiles showing more symptoms and different onset rates, though profile-level effects on onset were attenuated after controlling for baseline symptoms. |
Abstract
Background. Self-criticism and dependency are established personality vulnerabilities for mood and anxiety disorder onset. Although dispositional mindfulness is associated with lower depressive and anxiety symptoms, its preventive role in disorder onset remains unclear. The present study examined whether dispositional mindfulness facets predict first onset of mood and anxiety disorders, and how these facets configure with self-criticism and dependency to confer risk during adolescence. Methods. Data were drawn from the C-BRAID study, a longitudinal cohort of youth with a family history of mood or anxiety disorders but no personal lifetime history (N = 182, 186). Baseline questionnaires assessed dispositional mindfulness facets, self-criticism and dependency, and depressive and anxiety symptoms. Disorder onset was assessed via structured diagnostic interviews at 9- and 18-month follow-ups. Logistic regressions examined dispositional mindfulness facets as predictors of onset. Hierarchical k-means cluster analysis identified dispositional profiles which were subsequently examined as predictors of onset using logistic regressions. Results. Adjusting for age, sex, and past depressive/anxiety symptoms, greater self-acceptance predicted lower odds of both mood and anxiety disorder onset. Four dispositional profiles emerged: Adaptive Self-Definition, Adaptive Relatedness, Maladaptive Self-Definition, and Maladaptive Relatedness. Maladaptive profiles showed elevated symptoms relative to adaptive profiles and significant differences in rates of disorder onset, but profile-level effects on disorder onset were attenuated once baseline symptoms were controlled for. Implications. Self-acceptance may be a transdiagnostic protective factor against mood and anxiety disorder onset in adolescence. Findings highlight a potential compounding effect of interpersonal vulnerability and maladaptive dispositional mindfulness configurations, with implications for mindfulness-based preventive interventions.
Comparable studies
Other observational and cohort studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Undergraduate students | 2006 | Observational cohort | |
| Effectiveness of a meditation-based stress reduction program in the treatment of anxiety disorders Patients with generalized anxiety disorder or panic disorder with or without agoraphobia | 1992 | Observational cohort | n = 22 |
| Meditation experience is associated with increased cortical thickness Participants with extensive Insight meditation experience and matched controls | 2005 | Observational cohort | n = 20 |
| Meditation experience is associated with differences in default mode network activity and connectivity Experienced meditators and matched meditation-naive controls | 2011 | Observational cohort | |
| Long-term meditators self-induce high-amplitude gamma synchrony during mental practice Long-term Buddhist practitioners and controls | 2004 | Observational cohort |