Does mindfulness help people adapt to the experience of hearing voices?
Louise Stephanie, Rossell Susan L, Toh Wei Lin, Scott Monique, Thomas Neil
Psychiatry Research December 2018 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2018.09.013 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 62 |
| Population | Individuals with a psychotic disorder who had experienced hearing voices in the previous week |
| Measures | Southampton Mindfulness of Voices Questionnaire, Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales, Beliefs About Voices Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory-II, Beck Anxiety Inventory |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Auditory verbal hallucinations Distress Psychosis Voices |
| Key findings | Greater mindfulness of voices predicted less voice-related distress and lower resistance to voices, even when voice topography and mood symptoms were controlled for. Mindfulness of voices did not significantly predict voice-related disruption. The authors suggest these findings support developing and trialling mindfulness-based protocols for persistent voices. |
Abstract
Mindfulness-based interventions show promise in the treatment of psychotic symptoms. From a theoretical perspective, there may be several benefits of mindfulness for individuals who experience hearing voices. Related cross-sectional findings suggest mindfulness may protect against distress, disruption, negative beliefs, dysfunctional relational style and responding, and mood symptoms for individuals who hear voices. To extend on previous findings, this study aimed to identify whether mindful relating to voices predicted voice-related negative impacts (distress, disruption and resistance), when the influence of voice-topography and mood symptoms were controlled for. Overall, 62 participants with a psychotic disorder who had experienced hearing voices in the previous week were given the Southampton Mindfulness of Voices Questionnaire, Psychotic Symptom Rating Scales, Beliefs About Voices Questionnaire, Beck Depression Inventory-II, and Beck Anxiety Inventory. As predicted, greater mindfulness of voices predicted less voice-related distress and lower resistance to voices. Regression analyses revealed that when associated voice topography and mood symptoms were controlled for, mindful relating to voices explained a significant proportion of variance in voice-related distress and resistance. Conversely, mindfulness of voices did not significantly predict voice-related disruption. In the context of existing literature, these findings suggest further mindfulness-based protocols for persistent voices should be developed and trialled.
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 6
- Auditory verbal hallucinations in bipolar disorder (BD) and major depressive disorder (MDD): A systematic review. Journal of Affective Disorders September 15, 2015
- Can we respond mindfully to distressing voices? A systematic review of evidence for engagement, acceptability, effectiveness and mechanisms of change for mindfulness-based interventions for people distressed by hearing voices. Frontiers in Psychology August 14, 2015
- A new phenomenological survey of auditory hallucinations: evidence for subtypes and implications for theory and practice. Schizophrenia Bulletin January 2014
- Applying mindfulness therapy in a group of psychotic individuals: a controlled study. Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy 2012
- The Effect of Mindfulness-Based Therapy on Anxiety and Depression: A Meta-Analytic Review Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology April 1, 2010
and 1 more in the library