Resilience in the Ranks: Trait Mindfulness and Self-Compassion Buffer the Deleterious Effects of Envy on Mental Health Symptoms among Public Safety Personnel.
Shadi Beshai, Sandeep Mishra, Justin R Feeney, Tansi Summerfield, Chet C Hembroff, Gregory P Krätzig
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health May 13, 2022 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19105926 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional observational study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 104 |
| Population | Police trainees |
| Topics | Anxiety Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Jealousy Empathy Mental health Self-compassion Psp Resilience Envy Dispositional mindfulness |
| Key findings | Dispositional envy was associated with lower job satisfaction, greater stress, more anxiety and depression, more negative emotions, fewer positive emotions, and lower subjective resilience. Mindfulness and self-compassion were associated with better outcomes on these measures, and controlling for them significantly diminished envy's associations with job and mental health outcomes, suggesting these traits may buffer envy's effects. |
Abstract
Public safety personnel (PSP) face frequent stressors that increase their risk of developing symptoms of depression and anxiety. In addition to being exposed to potentially traumatic events, PSP trainees may face a compounded risk of developing mental health symptoms, as their training environments are conducive to social comparisons and the resultant painful emotion of envy. Envy is associated with numerous negative health and occupational outcomes. Fortunately, there are several individual difference factors associated with increased emotional regulation, and such factors may offer resilience against the damaging mental health effects of envy. In this study, we examined the interplay between dispositional mindfulness, self-compassion, and dispositional envy in predicting job satisfaction, stress, experience of positive and negative emotions, subjective resilience, and symptoms of depression and anxiety in a sample of police trainees (n = 104). A substantial minority of trainees reported clinically significant symptoms of depression (n = 19:18.3%) and anxiety (n = 24:23.1%) in accordance with the cut-off scores on screening measures. Consistent with hypotheses, dispositional envy was associated with lower job satisfaction, greater stress, and greater anxiety and depression. Furthermore, envy was associated with higher negative emotions, lower positive emotions, and lower subjective resilience. Dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion were associated with greater job satisfaction, lower stress, and reduced symptoms of depression and anxiety. Moreover, mindfulness and self-compassion were both associated with lower negative emotions, higher positive emotions, and subjective resilience. The associations between envy and the relevant job and mental health outcomes were significantly diminished after controlling for mindfulness and self-compassion. This suggests that these protective traits may serve as transdiagnostic buffers to the effects of envy on mental health. The results of this study confirmed the damaging effects of envy and suggested the potential remediation of these effects through the cultivation of mindfulness and self-compassion.
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 5
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- Dispositional Mindfulness and Attentional Control: The Specific Association Between the Mindfulness Facets of Non-judgment and Describing With Flexibility of Early Operating Orienting in Conflict Detection. Frontiers in Psychology 2018
- Dispositional Mindfulness and Psychological Health: a Systematic Review Mindfulness July 1, 2017
- Examining the Factor Structure of the 39-Item and 15-Item Versions of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire Before and After Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for People With Recurrent Depression Psychological Assessment April 14, 2016
- Effects of Mindfulness on Psychological Health: A Review of Empirical Studies Clinical Psychology Review May 13, 2011