Mapping mindfulness facets onto dimensions of anxiety and depression.
Alethea Desrosiers, David H Klemanski, Susan Nolen-Hoeksema
Behavior Therapy February 26, 2013 DOI: 10.1016/j.beth.2013.02.001 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study (cross-sectional survey with path analysis) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 187 |
| Population | Treatment-seeking adults |
| Measures | Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Personality Awareness Anxiety disorders Adolescent Adult Middle aged Female Self report Surveys and questionnaires |
| Key findings | Specific mindfulness facets showed distinct associations with anxiety and depression dimensions: nonreactivity was inversely associated with general distress-anxiety, describing inversely and observing positively with anxious arousal, and nonjudging and nonreactivity inversely with general distress-depression and anhedonic depression. Acting with awareness was unrelated to any symptom dimension. |
Abstract
Mindfulness has been associated with anxiety and depression, but the ways in which specific facets of mindfulness relate to symptoms of anxiety and depression remains unclear. The purpose of the current study was to investigate associations between specific facets of mindfulness (e.g., observing, describing, nonjudging, acting with awareness, and nonreactivity) and dimensions of anxiety and depression symptoms (e.g., anxious arousal, general distress-anxiety, general distress-depression, and anhedonic depression) while controlling for shared variance among variables. Participants were 187 treatment-seeking adults. Mindfulness was measured using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and symptoms of depression and anxiety were measured using the Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire. Bivariate correlations showed that all facets of mindfulness were significantly related to all dimensions of anxiety and depression, with two exceptions: describing was unrelated to general distress-anxiety, and observing was unrelated to all symptom clusters. Path analysis was used to simultaneously examine associations between mindfulness facets and depression and anxiety symptoms. Significant and marginally significant pathways were retained to construct a more parsimonious model and model fit indices were examined. The parsimonious model indicated that nonreactivity was significantly inversely associated with general distress anxiety symptoms. Describing was significantly inversely associated with anxious arousal, while observing was significantly positively associated with it. Nonjudging and nonreactivity were significantly inversely related to general distress-depression and anhedonic depression symptomatology. Acting with awareness was not significantly associated with any dimensions of anxiety or depression. Findings support associations between specific facets of mindfulness and dimensions of anxiety and depression and highlight the potential utility of targeting these specific aspects of mindfulness in interventions for anxiety and mood disorders.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety. International sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 985 |
| The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms Internet survey respondents reporting challenging experiences with psilocybin | 2016 | Questionnaire development and validation | |
| Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study Adult population in the United States | 2013 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 130,152 |
| Ecstasy/MDMA attributed problems reported by novice, moderate and heavy recreational users Ecstasy users who participated in a WWW study of recreational drug use | 2002 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 282 |
| 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used in a naturalistic group setting is associated with unintended improvements in depression and anxiety. Adults who used 5-MeO-DMT in a group setting with structured procedures | 2019 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 362 |
Citations in the library
Cited by 44
- Mindfulness Promotes a More Balanced Time Perspective: Correlational and Intervention-Based Evidence Mindfulness February 22, 2019
- The State of Dispositional Mindfulness Research Mindfulness March 18, 2022
- The Correlation Between Mindfulness, Decentering, and Psychological Problems: A Structural Equation Modeling Meta-Analysis Mindfulness July 2, 2024
- Hubungan antara Mindfulness dengan Depresi pada Remaja Journal Psikogenesis February 1, 2018
- Enhancing Equanimity With Noninvasive Brain Stimulation: A Novel Framework for Mindfulness Interventions. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging April 1, 2025
and 39 more in the library
Cites 23
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2003
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Assessment February 29, 2008
and 18 more in the library