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Comparative analysis of integrative self‐knowledge, mindfulness, and private self‐consciousness in predicting responses to stress in Iran
Author(s) -
Ghorbani Nima,
Cunningham Christopher J. L.,
Watson P. J.
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
international journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.75
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1464-066X
pISSN - 0020-7594
DOI - 10.1080/00207590903473768
Subject(s) - mindfulness , psychology , vitality , operationalization , checklist , consciousness , clinical psychology , multilevel model , stress (linguistics) , resistance (ecology) , developmental psychology , cognitive psychology , philosophy , linguistics , theology , epistemology , neuroscience , biology , machine learning , computer science , ecology
Previous research has established that awareness of self‐experience is a stress resistance resource. The present study conducted an analysis of measures that record different aspects of self‐awareness (private self‐consciousness, mindfulness, and integrative self‐knowledge) to explain this stress‐resistance effect in a sample of Iranian university students ( N =186). These students responded to Mindfulness Attention Awareness, Private Self‐Consciousness, Integrative Self‐Knowledge, and Perceived Stress Scales just before the stress of a 20‐day final examination period, and they then responded to Symptom Checklist and Vitality measures at four‐day intervals during the final examinations. Prior to final examinations, the three self‐awareness variables correlated positively with each other and negatively with perceived stress. Regression analyses of the data obtained during final examinations identified mindfulness to be a better operationalization of this stress‐resistance resource than private self‐consciousness. Specifically, mindfulness but not private self‐consciousness was a positive predictor of vitality and a negative predictor of symptoms. Hierarchical regression analyses also demonstrated that mindfulness and integrative self‐knowledge both explained resistance to physical symptoms, while integrative self‐knowledge functioned as a protective factor toward one's vitality. These data confirm the positive impact that self‐awareness has during stress and highlight the importance of considering both mindfulness and integrative self‐knowledge in understanding stress‐resistance processes.