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The many facets of mindfulness and the prediction of change following mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR)
Author(s) -
Gawrysiak Michael J.,
Grassetti Stevie N.,
Greeson Jeffrey M.,
Shorey Ryan C.,
Pohlig Ryan,
Baime Michael J.
Publication year - 2018
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.22521
Subject(s) - mindfulness , mindfulness based stress reduction , psychology , stress reduction , affect (linguistics) , clinical psychology , baseline (sea) , stress (linguistics) , psychotherapist , linguistics , oceanography , philosophy , communication , geology
Objectives Mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) promotes numerous psychological benefits, but few studies have identified for whom MBSR is most effective. The current study tested the hypothesis that lower baseline mindfulness invites more “room to grow” and, thus, predicts greater improvement during MBSR. Method We examined three facets of mindfulness (awareness, acceptance, decentering) among 131 MBSR participants prior to enrollment, to test the hypothesis that lower baseline mindfulness predicts greater improvements in perceived stress, positive affect (PA), and negative affect (NA) following MBSR. Results Lower acceptance and decentering predicted greater decreases in perceived stress. Higher awareness, acceptance, and decentering predicted greater increases in PA. Higher awareness predicted greater reductions in NA. Lower decentering predicted greater reductions in NA. Conclusion Findings partly supported the hypothesis that lower baseline mindfulness predicts greater improvement following MBSR and emphasize the importance of assessing multiple mindfulness facets given their unique, contrasting relations to outcomes.