Do Motives Matter? The Role of Motivation in Shaping the Impact of Mindfulness Training on Teachers' Psychological Distress and Wellbeing
Cristi Pinela
June 9, 2022 DOI: 10.15760/etd.7931 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper with empirical secondary analysis |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 83 |
| Population | Teachers participating in mindfulness training programs |
| Intervention | Mindfulness training |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key points | Contrary to the hypothesis that motive-aligned benefits would occur, teachers who reported low motives for participation (regardless of motive type) experienced the greatest psychological health benefits from mindfulness training, while those with high motives reported no benefits or adverse changes. This pattern held in both intent-to-treat and treatment-on-treated analyses. |
Abstract
Research on the impacts of mindfulness trainings (MTs) on teachers' psychological health and wellbeing suggests that MTs may be especially well-suited to preparing teachers for the unique demands of the profession (Iancu et al., 2017; Klingbeil & Renshaw, 2018). However, few studies have investigated whether different teachers benefit in different ways from mindfulness training, although there is some evidence that mindfulness training may yield dissociable benefits (Fucci et al., 2018; Hildebrandt, McCall, & Singer, 2017; Sauer-Zavala, Walsh, Eisenlohr-Moul, & Lykins, 2013) and preliminary evidence of differential effects of MTs on subgroup of teachers (Abenavoli et al., 2013; Roeser et al., 2021). The paucity of empirical evidence may be partly attributed to the paucity of theoretical frameworks that identify possible mechanisms for differential effects (Sedlmeier et al., 2012). The present study stepped into this gap by synthesizing the contemplative science literature with historical and contemporary theories of motivation and coping to propose a new theoretical framework for differential effects that highlighted motivation as a potential predictor of subgroup differences. This framework included a two-motive model highlighting two distinct, overlapping dynamic motivational orientations that were hypothesized to interact with a MT to yield motive-aligned psychological benefits -- a distress reduction motive and a wellbeing enhancement motive. Two research questions were investigated using different methodological approaches. RQ1 was investigated using an intent-to-treat (ITT) analytic framework, focusing on treatment versus waitlist control group comparisons within a single sample (n = 58) to determine whether motives interacted with a MT to yield motive-aligned benefits. RQ2 shifted to a treatment-on-treated (ToT) framework, focusing on teachers in the treatment condition across the three datasets (n = 83) to determine whether motives predicted motive-aligned benefits. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling and post-hoc analyses were performed to further clarify results. Findings suggested that teachers' motives for participation mattered when it came to the benefits derived from a MT, but not in the manner hypothesized. Instead, RQ1 results showed that teachers who reported low motives (regardless of motive type) reported the greatest training benefits, while teachers who reported high motives reported either no benefits or even adverse change in psychological health outcomes. RQ2 results showed that teachers who started the MT with higher motives for participation also experienced the least benefits, and in some cases those teachers who reported higher motives also reported adverse change in psychological health outcomes. Together, these findings suggest that higher motivation to participate
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 |
Citations in the library
Cites 27
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction for Stress Management in Healthy People: A Review and Meta-Analysis The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine May 1, 2009
- Self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-transcendence (S-ART): a framework for understanding the neurobiological mechanisms of mindfulness Frontiers in Human Neuroscience 2012
and 22 more in the library