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The shape of change in perceived stress, negative affect, and stress sensitivity during mindfulness-based stress reduction.

Evelien Snippe, John J Dziak, Stephanie T. Lanza, Ivan Nyklíček, Marieke Wichers

Mindfulness June 2017 DOI: 10.1007/s12671-016-0650-5 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational longitudinal study using daily diary assessments and time-varying effect modeling Peer reviewed
Sample size 71
Population Adults from the general population participating in an MBSR program
Intervention Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)
Duration During MBSR (duration not specified)
Topics Meditation
Keywords Daily diary studies Emotional regulation Intensive longitudinal methods Stress reactivity Time-varying effect model
Key findings Perceived stress and negative affect decreased linearly over the course of MBSR and with cumulative mindfulness practice days, suggesting a dose-response relationship; however, the association between perceived stress and negative affect did not decrease, indicating stress sensitivity was not reduced.

Abstract

Both daily stress and the tendency to react to stress with heightened levels of negative affect (i.e., stress sensitivity) are important vulnerability factors for adverse mental health outcomes. Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) may help to reduce perceived daily stress and stress sensitivity. The purpose of this study was to examine how change in perceived stress, negative affect (NA), and the decoupling between perceived stress and NA evolved over the course of a MBSR program, without making any a priori assumptions on the shape of change. Seventy-one adults from the general population participating in MBSR provided daily diary assessments of perceived stress and NA during MBSR. The time-varying effect model (TVEM) indicated that perceived stress and NA decreased in a linear fashion rather than in a non-linear fashion, both as a function of time and as a function of the cumulative number of days of mindfulness practice. Both TVEM and multilevel growth modeling showed that the association between perceived stress and NA did not decrease over the course of MBSR. The findings support the hypothesis that MBSR reduces NA and also reduces the extent to which individuals perceive their days as stressful. Also, the results suggest that there is a dose-response relationship between the amount of mindfulness practice and reductions in daily stress and NA.

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

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