The more mindfulness practice, the more post-trauma stress symptoms? Trait mindfulness and PTSS during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Yuzheng Wang, Jing Chen, Xinya Liu, Xiaoxiao Lin, Yabin Sun, Ning Wang, Jinyan Wang, Fei Luo
Current Psychology March 15, 2022 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-02964-9 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 522 |
| Population | Adults in Hubei province, China, during the COVID-19 pandemic |
| Measures | Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Adolescents' Emotional Resilience Questionnaire, PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Emotional resilience Meditation experiences Post-traumatic stress symptoms Trait mindfulness |
| Key findings | Participants with family or friends diagnosed with COVID-19 scored higher on avoidance, and those with family or friends diagnosed with SARS or H1N1 scored higher on overall PTSS. Meditation experience was associated with higher scores on all PTSS dimensions except avoidance. Recovering from negative emotions significantly mediated the relationship between trait mindfulness and PTSS (95% CI [-0.212, -0.094]), while generating positive emotions did not (95% CI [-0.050, 0.071]). |
Abstract
Investigating the contributing factors of post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) has always been an important topic in the field of traumatic psychology research. The current study explored the influences of pandemic/epidemic experiences, meditation experiences, and trait mindfulness on PTSS and the mediating role of emotional resilience during the COVID-19 pandemic. A total of 522 participants in Hubei province completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Adolescents' Emotional Resilience Questionnaire, and the PTSD Checklist for DSM-5. The results showed that (1) participants who had family or friends diagnosed with COVID-19 scored higher on avoidance. (2) Participants who had family or friends had been diagnosed with SARS or H1N1 scored higher on PTSS. (3) Participants with meditation experience scored significantly higher on all dimensions of PTSS, other than avoidance. (4) The mediating role of recovering from negative emotions in the relationship between trait mindfulness and PTSS was significant (95%CI= [-0.212, -0.094]), while the generating positive emotion was not significant (95%CI= [-0.050, 0.071]). Individuals with pandemic/epidemic experience are more likely to have a high level of PTSS. Individuals who have meditation experience also express a higher level of PTSS, which may be a result of the quality of meditation. Trait mindfulness and the ability to recover from negative emotions were protective factors against PTSS.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cites 13
- Mechanisms of mindfulness Journal of Clinical Psychology December 29, 2005
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Changing Minds: A Pilot Feasibility Study of Mindfulness Training for At-Risk Adolescents National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Journal September 1, 2021
- Mindfulness, Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms, and Posttraumatic Growth in Aid Workers: The Role of Self-Acceptance and Rumination. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease March 1, 2021
- The efficacy of mindfulness meditation apps in enhancing users' well-being and mental health related outcomes: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. Journal of Affective Disorders October 7, 2020
and 8 more in the library