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Cognitive Processes Mediate the Relation Between Mindfulness and Social Anxiety Within a Clinical Sample
Author(s) -
Schmertz Stefan K.,
Masuda Akihiko,
Anderson Page L.
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
journal of clinical psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.124
H-Index - 119
eISSN - 1097-4679
pISSN - 0021-9762
DOI - 10.1002/jclp.20861
Subject(s) - psychology , mindfulness , mediation , anxiety , cognition , clinical psychology , social anxiety , developmental psychology , psychotherapist , psychiatry , political science , law
Objectives The researchers investigated the relation between mindfulness and social anxiety symptoms, and examined whether this relation is mediated by cognitive appraisals commonly associated with social anxiety. Participants Ninety‐eight individuals diagnosed with social phobia. Design Using a cross‐sectional design, ordinary least squares regression and bootstrapping mediation analyses were used to test the study hypotheses. Results Mindfulness was negatively related to symptoms of social anxiety. This relation was partially mediated by cognitive appraisals about the likelihood and cost of a negative social outcome. Conclusion Further research using a longitudinal design and other measures of mindfulness is needed to replicate these findings and further explicate the mechanism by which mindfulness might be associated with negative cognitive appraisals.