Exploring the Relationships Among Mindfulness, Attention and Interpretation Bias, and Depressive Symptoms in Emerging Adults
Meghan S. Goyer
Digital Archive @ GSU May 13, 2022 DOI: 10.57709/17544265 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study using structural equation modeling Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Emerging adults |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Mindful non-judgment was related to depression through interpretation bias, but not through attention bias, while mindful attention showed no such relationship. Attention bias was not related to depression or interpretation bias in any model. The authors propose these findings inform the construct of mindfulness and the role of cognitive biases in the mindfulness-depression link. |
Abstract
Theoretical and empirical work suggesting associations between (1) mindfulness and depression and (2) cognitive biases (CBs) and depression lay the groundwork for novel questions about how to model mindfulness, how mindfulness and CBs are linked, how CBs are associated with one another, and how CBs may explain the association between mindfulness and depression. The present study derived a model of mindfulness, from which a structural model was built to explore relationships among factors in the model, including attention bias (AB), interpretation bias (IB), and depressive symptoms in a sample of emerging adults. Findings suggested a bi-factor Exploratory Structural Equation Model best fit the data. Results showed mindful non-judgment (but not attention) was related to depression through IB, but not through AB. AB was not related to depression or IB in any model. Implications for the construct of mindfulness and the role of cognitive biases in the mindfulness-depression link are considered.
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 |