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The Relationship between Mindfulness and Readiness to Change in Alcohol Drinkers

Eid Abo Hamza, Adam Yoon, Liquan Liu, Anchal Garg, Yuliya Richard, Dorota Frydecka, Ahmed A. Helal, Ahmed A. Moustafa

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health May 1, 2023 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph20095690 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey study Peer reviewed
Sample size 279
Population Undergraduate students from Western Sydney University
Measures Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT), Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCT), Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)
Topics Meditation
Citations 6
Key findings Mindfulness and its facets were negatively correlated with readiness to change drinking behaviors, and the Acting with Awareness and Non-Judging of Inner Experience facets negatively predicted readiness to change. The authors propose that mindfulness techniques should be incorporated into interventions targeting problematic drinking.

Abstract

Mindfulness is a multi-faceted construct that involves paying attention to thoughts and emotions without automatically reacting and being critical of them. Recent research has suggested that mindfulness might play an important role in reducing problematic alcohol use. Further, Readiness to Change (RTC) is related to motivation to change drinking behaviours. The RTC scale identifies motivation to change drinking behaviours including Precontemplation, Contemplation, and Action stages. The current study investigated, for the first time, the relationship between mindfulness (and its facets) and RTC in relation to drinking behaviours. Undergraduate students from Western Sydney University (N = 279) were screened for drinking levels using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and then completed the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCT) and the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), which includes the following facets: Acting with Awareness, Non-Judging of Inner Experience, Non-Reactivity to Inner Experience, Describing, and Observing. Results show that overall, mindfulness and its facets negatively correlated with RTC. Multiple regression analysis further showed that Awareness and Non-Judgement facets negatively predicted RTC. These findings provide insight into how the facets of mindfulness interact with the drinking motives of individuals and their intentions to change drinking behaviours. Based on these findings, we recommend the incorporation of mindfulness techniques in interventions targeting problematic drinking.

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

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