Trait mindfulness as a limiting factor for residual depressive symptoms: an explorative study using quantile regression.
Sholto Radford, Catrin Eames, Kate Brennan, Gwladys Lambert, Catherine Crane, J Mark G Williams, Danielle S. Duggan, Thorsten Barnhofer
PLoS One July 2, 2014 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0100022 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational study using quantile regression on self-report data Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 274 |
| Population | Individuals with a history of three or more previous episodes of recurrent depression |
| Topics | Depression Meditation |
| Keywords | Humans Adolescent Adult Middle aged Female Self report |
| Key findings | Higher trait mindfulness was associated with lower residual depressive symptoms, with the relationship most pronounced near the upper end of the symptom distribution and moderated by number of previous episodes at higher quantiles. The authors suggest that with lower mindfulness, residual symptoms are less constrained and more likely influenced by other factors, and that mindfulness's limiting effect on residual symptoms is most salient in those with higher numbers of episodes. |
Abstract
Mindfulness has been suggested to be an important protective factor for emotional health. However, this effect might vary with regard to context. This study applied a novel statistical approach, quantile regression, in order to investigate the relation between trait mindfulness and residual depressive symptoms in individuals with a history of recurrent depression, while taking into account symptom severity and number of episodes as contextual factors. Rather than fitting to a single indicator of central tendency, quantile regression allows exploration of relations across the entire range of the response variable. Analysis of self-report data from 274 participants with a history of three or more previous episodes of depression showed that relatively higher levels of mindfulness were associated with relatively lower levels of residual depressive symptoms. This relationship was most pronounced near the upper end of the response distribution and moderated by the number of previous episodes of depression at the higher quantiles. The findings suggest that with lower levels of mindfulness, residual symptoms are less constrained and more likely to be influenced by other factors. Further, the limiting effect of mindfulness on residual symptoms is most salient in those with higher numbers of episodes.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cites 10
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- How Does Mindfulness Meditation Work? Proposing Mechanisms of Action From a Conceptual and Neural Perspective Perspectives on Psychological Science October 14, 2011
- Dispositional mindfulness and depressive symptomatology: Correlations with limbic and self-referential neural activity during rest. Emotion 2010
- “Thinking about Not-Thinking”: Neural Correlates of Conceptual Processing during Zen Meditation PLoS One September 2, 2008
and 5 more in the library