Handbook of Mindfulness and Self-Regulation
Abstract
This empirically robust resource examines multiple ways mindfulness can be harnessed to support self-regulation, in part as a real-world component of therapy. Its authoritative coverage approaches complex mind/brain connections from neuroscience, cognitive, personality, social, clinical, and Buddhist perspectives, both within and outside traditional meditation practice. In domains such as letting go of harmful habits and addictions, dealing with depression and anxiety, regulating emotions, and training cognitive function, contributors show how mindfulness-based interventions encourage and inspire change. In addition to scientific coverage, experts translate their methods and findings on mindfulness mechanisms in terms that are accessible to students and clinicians. Included in the Handbook: … Mindfulness and its role in overcoming automatic mental processes … Burning issues in dispositional mindfulness research … Self-compassion: what it is, what it does, and how it relates to mindfulness … Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy and mood disorders … Mindfulness as a general ingredient of successful psychotherapy … The emperor's clothes: a look behind the Western mindfulness mystique. Heralding a new era of mind/brain research--and deftly explaining our enduring fascination with mindfulness in the process--the Handbook of Mindfulness and Self-Regulation will enhance the work of scholars and practitioners.
Chapters (19)
Mindfulness has Buddhist roots, but exists as a human potential independent of this philosophical tradition. To be mindful means to be aware of current thoughts, feelings, and experiences in a curious, nonjudgmental way. Mindfulness is closely linked with awareness and allows one to become better acquainted with the workings of the mind. It also allows one to appreciate that thoughts and feelings are just occurrences, ones that do not need to be acted on. The topic of this volume is the manifold ways in which mindfulness can support self-regulation, including both its inhibitory (e.g., to crave without consuming) and enacted (e.g., to consume with thoughtfulness) components. This introduction chapter makes the case that we often need to engage in self-regulation and that mindfulness can support these efforts. The chapter then outlines the scope of the volume and its contents. Eighteen chapters are grouped into four sections comprising cognitive, social, clinical, and theoretical perspectives. The chapter includes a brief overview of each contribution.
Mindfulness is associated with reduced negative affective states, increased positive affective states, and reduced clinical affective symptomatology (e.g., depression, anxiety) in previous studies. This chapter examines an emerging body of fMRI and EEG research exploring how mindfulness alters neurobiological emotion processing systems. We examine how dispositional (trait) mindfulness and how adopting a mindful attentional stance (after varying levels of mindfulness training) relate to changes in neural responses to affective stimuli. Evidence suggests mindfulness-related changes in a ventral affective processing network associated with core affect, a dorsal processing network associated with making attributions and appraisals of one’s affective experience, and regulatory networks involved in modulating affective processes. These neural effects may underlie the previously observed relationships between mindfulness and changes in reported emotion processing and reactivity. Findings are discussed in light of existing neurobiological models of emotion and we describe important questions for the field in the coming years.
Mindfulness meditation depends heavily on brain areas involved in executive attention. Imaging studies of executive attention reveal a brain network that includes the anterior cingulate, anterior insula, and striatum. This brain network is responsible for the resolution of conflict and is more generally critical to self-regulation. The efficiency of the executive network can be improved by two forms of training. One form involves sustained practice on the conflict tasks that activate this network. A second form involves changing one’s brain state through the use of mindfulness meditation, as captured in Integrative Body-Mind Training. In this chapter, we first briefly introduce the attentional networks and then discuss the two forms of training. In the latter case, we also discuss the downstream effects of training on improving attention, emotion and stress regulation, and reduction of some forms of psychopathology.
The human mind relies on a set of processes to guide moment-to-moment experience. These processes include attention and working memory. Interest in cognitive training results from the knowledge that these processes are capacity limited and are diminished under contexts such as stress or negative affect. Mindfulness is a mental mode characterized by attention to the present moment without emotional reactivity or conceptual engagement. Recent research tests the hypothesis that mindfulness training produces measurable benefits to attention and working memory. This chapter illustrates the cognitive processes that determine the contents of the mind at any given moment, and then discusses the results of empirical studies examining mindfulness training as a cognitive enhancement tool, particularly for the core systems of attention and working memory.
There is increasing evidence that automatic mental processes contribute to self-regulation failures such as eating high-fat foods despite being on a diet and getting trapped in old ways of thinking about problems that require a novel response. Mindfulness meditation, which was developed to overcome habitual patterns of the mind that contribute to human suffering, holds great promise as a strategy to improve self-regulation. This chapter examines the idea that mindfulness may facilitate self-regulation by influencing automatic processes and their relation with subsequent cognition and behavior. After beginning with a discussion of the functional value of automatic processes, the chapter continues with a review of how these processes contribute to self-regulation failure. Next, a theoretical discussion is presented concerning mindfulness and how it might moderate automatic processes. After presenting a review of research addressing this topic, the chapter concludes with suggestions for future work.
The recent development of dispositional mindfulness measures has sparked several contentious issues regarding our understanding of mindfulness, its measurement, and its development. In this chapter, we consider theory and review empirical research to address four burning issues in dispositional mindfulness research. We review both scholarly and empirical research bearing on the meaning of mindfulness, and discuss distinctions between mindfulness and other attention constructs. We review the validity of dispositional mindfulness measures and highlight their convergence with mindfulness inductions and interventions on key outcomes of interest, namely psychological well-being and emotion regulation. We also attempt to show how the widespread deployment of psychometric instruments to measure individual differences in mindfulness has contributed to understanding how mindfulness itself—apart from the methods designed to enhance it—is related to adaptive emotion-relevant outcomes at neural, psychophysiological, and psychological levels of analysis. Finally, we discuss how qualities of mindful attention may develop through developmental and contextual influences, in addition to formal training. Investigating mindfulness as an individual difference has contributed to a developing theory of mindfulness, and has opened the field to topics of inquiry not easily permissible by other means.
According to self-determination theory (SDT; Ryan and Deci, Am Psychol 55:68–78, 2000), both why people act (e.g., from autonomy or control) and what they choose to do (e.g., pursuing intrinsic versus extrinsic goals) predict the overall quality of their living. When the reason “why” one acts is volitional and self-endorsed and “what” one pursues is more intrinsically oriented (e.g., personal growth, community contribution) one is more likely to experience overall wellness. In this chapter, we discuss how mindfulness, or open awareness of what is occurring in the moment (Brown and Ryan, J Personal Soc Psychol 84:822–848, 2003), supports more autonomous forms of self-regulation and more intrinsic versus extrinsic goal selection, supplying an important “how” of eudaimonic, or meaningful and satisfying, living. To show these links we first present a brief overview of SDT, then delineate the construct mindfulness, and review evidence of how mindfulness relates to both the regulatory processes through which behaviors are enacted, and the content of goals that individuals pursue.
The authors review evidence for the strength model of self-regulation (self-control), and discuss relations between mindfulness and self-regulation. The strength model of self-control suggests that exerting self-control may consume some limited resource and reduce the amount of strength available for subsequent self-control tasks. Another key feature of the strength model of self-control suggests that regular exercise can, over time, increase the strength or ability of self-control. In this way, self-control is said to resemble a muscle. Mindfulness and self-regulation appear to have some features in common. Increased mindfulness and increased self-regulatory ability both offer substantial benefits for living a healthy and successful life across several domains. Furthermore, exercises used to increase mindfulness are similar to exercises used to increase self-control. It seems likely, then, that mindfulness and self-control ability have a bidirectional relationship.
In this chapter, we begin to explore the wealth of research and theory on the implications of mindfulness for emotional experience by examining a variety of models of mindfulness and how they inform mindful emotion regulation. Then, we provide an empirical overview of the role of mindfulness in general emotional states, emotional reactions to stimuli and events, and emotions over time. Within this overview, we provide evidence for several distinct avenues through which mindfulness benefits emotion regulation, including increased willingness to experience negative emotions, reduced reactivity to emotional stimuli and situations, a decentered perspective, and increased emotional stability; we also highlight some research which suggests the neurological underpinnings of mindful emotion regulation. Finally, we link the impact of mindfulness on emotion regulation to behavioral change. Specifically, by highlighting research on smoking, alcohol use, and other addictive behaviors, we demonstrate that emotion regulation serves as a key mechanism in the relationship between mindfulness and some domains of behavioral regulation.
Over the past decade self-compassion has gained popularity as a related and complementary construct to mindfulness, and research on self-compassion is growing at an exponential rate. Self-compassion involves treating yourself with the same kindness, concern and support you would show to a good friend. When faced with difficult life struggles, or confronting personal mistakes, failures, and inadequacies, self-compassion responds with kindness rather than harsh self-judgment, recognizing that imperfection is part of the shared human experience. In order to give oneself compassion, one must be able to turn toward, acknowledge, and accept that one is suffering, meaning that mindfulness is a core component of self-compassion. This chapter provides a comprehensive description of self-compassion and a review of the empirical literature supporting its psychological benefits. Similarities and distinctions between mindfulness and self-compassion are also explored, as these have important implications for research and intervention. This chapter hopes to provide a compelling argument for the use of both self-compassion and mindfulness as important means to help individuals develop emotional resilience and wellbeing.
There is growing evidence for the benefits of mindfulness and acceptance-based approaches to treating and preventing behavioral health problems and improving overall well-being. The emergence of mindfulness as a key construct in modern psychotherapy is a recent phenomenon that will be considered in the contexts of recent cultural changes and social needs and with the aim of exploring two questions “what is mindfulness?” and “why now?” The modern history of mindfulness in clinical practice will be explored through consideration of the dominant mindfulness-based psychotherapies that have significant research support for their effectiveness. These treatments will be discussed in terms of their historical roots, theoretical basis, evidence base, and as exemplars of the integration of mindfulness into contemporary clinical practice.
Randomized controlled trials of mindfulness-based interventions have demonstrated beneficial effects of treatment across a variety of disorders (Keng et al., Clin Psych Rev 31:1041-1056, 2011). More research is needed to determine the mechanisms through which these treatments improve psychological functioning. This chapter provides a variety of concrete recommendations for conducting methodologically rigorous studies, including design, sample, psychometric, and statistical considerations. Because reliable and valid assessment of mindfulness is critical to research on mechanisms of change, we review the available tools for measuring trait and state mindfulness processes. In addition, a brief review of treatment-based mediational studies is included, revealing the need for more theory-based, systematic exploration of mediational pathways. By optimizing and standardizing methods in this area of research, clinical scientists can hasten accumulation of knowledge about how mindfulness-based interventions work.
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have been empirically demonstrated as an effective treatment for mood disorders and associated symptoms. Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is one of the MBIs shown to be effective. This chapter describes the MBCT program and how it is thought to reduce the risk of depressive relapse in major depressive disorder (MDD). It summarizes the existing support for MBCT for depressive relapse prevention, as well as the treatment for acute and residual depressive symptoms. The chapter also presents preliminary evidence for the use of MBCT in the treatment of depression and anxiety symptoms for bipolar disorder (BD). Special clinical considerations for unique patient factors when applying MBCT to mood disorders are highlighted. The guidelines for the training of potential MBCT instructors are discussed. Finally, this chapter presents preliminary evidence on the feasibility of alternative MBCT delivery formats including individual, online, and over the telephone.
Few conditions cause as much suffering on a personal and societal level as addictions. Though efforts have helped to delineate the neurobiological mechanisms of the addictive process, treatment strategies have lagged behind. Mindfulness training, which is based on ancient Buddhist psychological models of human suffering, has recently shown promise in the treatment of addictions. Interestingly, these early models are remarkably similar to modern-day models, namely in their overlap with positive and negative reinforcement (operant conditioning). Remarkably, the early Buddhist models may take it one step further, both in explaining the psychological mechanisms of mindfulness and importantly also pointing to key elements of the addictive process, such as craving as essential targets of treatment. In this chapter, we describe the overlap and similarities between early and contemporary models of the addictive process, review studies of mindfulness training for addictions and their mechanistic effects on the relationship between craving and behavior, and discuss recent neuroimaging studies that help to inform our understanding of underlying neural mechanisms of mindfulness.
Eating encompasses multiple self-regulatory processes, including physiological, behavioral, emotional, and social. This chapter reviews the application of self-regulation theory to mindfulness approaches to treating eating problems and obesity, with a particular focus on Mindfulness-Based Eating Awareness Training (MB-EAT). Eating behavior and the psychobiology of food intake lend themselves to being understood from a self-regulation perspective, and the development of MB-EAT as a program was substantively informed by self-regulation models, along with principles compatible with mindfulness theory and Buddhist psychology. The chapter provides an overview of key conceptual issues and therapeutic components from a self-regulation perspective. MB-EAT involves training in mindfulness meditation and guided mindfulness practices designed to address the core issues of dysregulated eating: developing awareness and appropriate use of hunger and satiety cues; recognizing key triggers for overeating, including emotional, social, and cognitive patterns; making more conscious food choices; and cultivating self-acceptance and wisdom. Evidence to date supports the value of MB-EAT in decreasing binge episodes, improving one’s sense of self-control with regard to eating, contributing to weight loss and diabetes management, and diminishing depressive symptoms.
This chapter offers an exploration of the intersections between mindful awareness and self-regulation. In medical practice, clinicians focus on both the physiological and the mental states of their patients. Here we offer an overview of mindfulness from the view of interpersonal neurobiology. In this view, the mind is seen as an embodied and relational self-organizing process that regulates the flow of energy and information. The self, and self-regulation, are then seen as both derived from internal physiological processes as well as from interpersonal social processes. We examine the neurobiology and relational aspects of mindfulness, empathy, and compassion to explore this embodied and relational function of the mind. We then take a look at the absence of such processes in individuals with Antisocial Personality Disorder to highlight these fundamental ways in which brain, mind, and relationships are inextricably intertwined—as three aspects of the one reality of energy and information flow within and between people. Ultimately, mindful awareness can be seen as a way of focusing attention that cultivates integration both within the individual and between the individual and others through various levels of self-regulation. These internal and interpersonal states of integration promote health, as studies of mindful awareness training in physicians and others have demonstrated. Mindfulness can be seen as a part of the basic education for all clinicians as it is a teachable skill that promotes self-regulation which is at the heart of health.
In this chapter I present a psychological conceptualization of mindfulness based on constructs in common therapeutic parlance. Taking a functional approach based on the skills and recognitions patients gain from the exercises commonly used in mindfulness training and avoiding exotic and cryptic language, it makes apparent both the commonality mindfulness has with modalities therapists will be already using in their clinical practice and the ways in which it may add something new and therapeutically useful. It also describes the evolutionary pressures that have shaped the biological imperatives driving the default movements of attention that result in day-to-day experience being experienced as less than pleasant; defaults that result in both the need for, and the challenge of cultivating mindfulness. So, while the instructions and narrative within which these principles are introduced into therapy will need to be adapted to the patient’s background and circumstances, an understanding and grounding in the principles enables the therapist both to skillfully make these adaptations to the training exercises and to make them immediately sensible to the patient, including the challenges they will meet in getting started.
Over the last several years, various authors have examined contemporary conceptions of mindfulness in relation to Buddhist notions. Some authors maintain that contemporary approaches to mindfulness deviate significantly from the authentic Buddhist approach, while others see more alignment between contemporary approaches and some t\ styles of practice. The differing opinions in this regard can be confusing, and the aim of this chapter is to lessen that confusion by offering an overview of key Buddhist approaches to mindfulness in a manner that enables researchers to make appropriate use of Buddhist sources. In particular, this chapter presents heuristic categories that sort Buddhist theories and practices into two distinct styles, the “Classical” and the “Nondual,” and compares them to contemporary approaches to mindfulness, especially in relation to three crucial aspects of formal practice: ethics, judgment, and present-centered awareness.
Mindfulness is presently a popular word, taken originally from Buddhist practices, that has stimulated enthusiastic research in psychology, neuroscience, medicine, and clinical psychology. But what is the mindfulness that these disciplines study? Although there are diverse Western definitions of the term, the most frequent de facto operational definition is that subjects have taken some form of the 8-week Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program. Accordingly this chapter provides: (a) A review of the meaning and place of mindfulness in the three main historical forms of Buddhism. (b) An analysis of the contents of the MBSR program and, in particular, of how participants use those contents. (c) A critique of the mindfulness measurement scales. Participants were found primarily responding not to mindfulness in either Buddhist or Western definitions, but to a variety of Western therapeutic components embedded in the program. I show how these findings could lead to new and more grounded research questions, better individually targeted therapies, and, when combined with some of the Eastern material, perhaps to shifts in our understanding of body and mind.
... Furthermore, mindfulness teaches individuals to control behavior, set goals, and strive to achieve them. This contributes to better concentration and attention, ultimately leading to improved self-regulation and attentiveness (Howell & Buro, 2011;Leyland et al., 2018;Ostafin et al., 2015). Ostafin et al. (2015) emphasize the link between mindfulness and self-regulation in their book "Mindfulness of the Mind." ...
... This contributes to better concentration and attention, ultimately leading to improved self-regulation and attentiveness (Howell & Buro, 2011;Leyland et al., 2018;Ostafin et al., 2015). Ostafin et al. (2015) emphasize the link between mindfulness and self-regulation in their book "Mindfulness of the Mind." They note that mindfulness practice reduces negative social interactions, improves self-regulation and attentiveness, and addresses problems related to impaired executive functions, such as improved self-control and working memory. ...
... The more they practice, the better their attention improves, highlighting the strong correlation between mindfulness and attention. These findings align with other studies that have reported a statistically positive correlation between mindfulness and self-regulation (Galla, 2016;Howell & Buro, 2011;Jiga et al., 2019;Leyland et al., 2018;Ostafin et al., 2015;Viglas & Perlman, 2018). ...
Objectives
This study investigated the effectiveness of a mindfulness-based program in improving self-regulation and attention in hard-of-hearing children.
Method
A quasi-experimental design was employed in Najran, Saudi Arabia. Participants were 28 hard-of-hearing children (mean age = 12.6 years, SD = 2.03 years) divided into an intervention group (n = 14) and a control group (n = 14). Pre- and post-intervention measures were collected using the Mindfulness Scale for Children and Adolescents, the Self-Regulation Scale, and the Attention Difficulties Scale. The intervention group received the Mindfulness Training Program, through 16 sessions that were applied in 2 months; the follow-up period was 3 months.
Results
A Wilcoxon signed-rank test revealed statistically significant improvements in mindfulness, self-regulation, and attention in the intervention group after the program and at the follow-up assessment (p < 0.01). The effect sizes, as measured by the rank-biserial correlation (r), were 0.86 for mindfulness, 0.71 for self-regulation, and 0.85 for attention, suggesting large effects of the intervention on these variables.
Conclusions
This study suggests that mindfulness-based interventions may be beneficial for hard-of-hearing children experiencing self-regulation and attention difficulties. However, limitations necessitate cautious interpretation of the results due to the small sample size and focus on boys in a single city.
Preregistration
This study is not preregistered.
... Moreover, self-kindness involves taking care of and comforting oneself when faced with difficult external circumstances. Humans are warm-hearted and want to make themselves feel better when they are distressed (Ostafin, Robinson, & Meier, 2015). ...
... It encourages us to recognize that overcoming obstacles is a fundamental and shared aspect of the human journey, fostering a sense of belonging and solidarity. This acknowledgment is critical because it distinguishes self-compassion from self-pity; it emphasizes the interconnectedness of our flawed human experiences and the universality of suffering (Ostafin et al., 2015). According to Buddhist philosophy, suffering is a natural aspect of being human because all people are interconnected. ...
... Furthermore, acknowledging that one's pain and shortcomings are shared by others reduces the extent of self-blame and inhibits the tendency toward overidentification. Therefore, the best way to examine the effect of self-compassion on wellbeing is to view it as a single experience made up of interrelated components or brief interventions (Ostafin et al., 2015). ...
In the demanding landscape of academia, students grapple with many challenges that impact their mental and emotional well-being. In easing these difficulties, this chapter explores self-compassion's frequently underappreciated but mighty power. Understanding its vital role in supporting resilience and general well-being, we stress the importance of developing self-compassion to succeed personally and academically. This chapter highlights self-compassion's role in improving students' well-being and helping them effectively manage the challenges that come with the journey of a student's life.
... Other studies of MBRP suggest that the attentional training provided by MBRP helps develop the capacity to consciously regulate the focus of attention (Ostafin, 2015). With a better capacity to focus attention, it is easier to recognize problematic stimuli that might elicit an emotion (such as anger), and shift the focus to other available stimuli that are more neutral, such as physical sensations associated with breathing (Ostafin, 2015). ...
... Other studies of MBRP suggest that the attentional training provided by MBRP helps develop the capacity to consciously regulate the focus of attention (Ostafin, 2015). With a better capacity to focus attention, it is easier to recognize problematic stimuli that might elicit an emotion (such as anger), and shift the focus to other available stimuli that are more neutral, such as physical sensations associated with breathing (Ostafin, 2015). The focus can also be directed toward other internal reactions that are triggered by the same stimuli with greater acceptance and non-judgement, maintaining awareness of the associated bodily sensations and the thoughts without "automatically" reacting to them (Ostafin, 2015;Witkiewitz et al., 2013aWitkiewitz et al., , 2013b. ...
... With a better capacity to focus attention, it is easier to recognize problematic stimuli that might elicit an emotion (such as anger), and shift the focus to other available stimuli that are more neutral, such as physical sensations associated with breathing (Ostafin, 2015). The focus can also be directed toward other internal reactions that are triggered by the same stimuli with greater acceptance and non-judgement, maintaining awareness of the associated bodily sensations and the thoughts without "automatically" reacting to them (Ostafin, 2015;Witkiewitz et al., 2013aWitkiewitz et al., , 2013b. These automatic processes seem to be critical in the relapse processes, and its reduction potentially improve treatment prognosis (Table 3). ...
Mindfulness is effective in managing cravings and preventing relapse in substance use disorders (SUD), but its effectiveness in managing anger is unclear. We aim to assess the effects of mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) on anger in men treated in therapeutics communities for SUD in Brazil. The sample size was designed to a minimum of 160 participants; 223 were randomized to MBRP or treatment as usual. After eight sessions of MBRP, the level of mindfulness and anger expression measures were assessed. Generalized estimated equations showed that MBRP group had a decreased effect on the anger expression index, reducing the anger expression-in and anger expression-out and increasing anger control-in and anger control-out compared to control. Mediation analysis showed that the level of mindfulness mediated group effects on anger expression index. MBRP protocol has shown benefits for anger management among inpatients with SUD.
... Reports of mindfulness as an enabler of self-regulation, especially in an emotional regulation capacity, have been peaking [33][34][35]. However, this is not always the case (although sometimes it is) for mind wandering, which represents random, off-task thoughts experienced when one is engaged in attention-demanding tasks [36]. ...
... The responses of increased mindful awareness on the PHLMS were also significantly related to the reports of increased self-regulation, as expected, since people tend to practice mindfulness to obtain more control of their experiences [34,35]. Further, the reports of mindful acceptance were negatively related to inner speech and mind wandering while being positively related to self-concept clarity and regulatory capacity for making change. ...
In this study, the researchers explored novel relationships between the self-related processes of self-talk, inner speech, self-concept clarity, mindfulness, mind wandering, and self-regulation. Using self-report questionnaires (n = 227), we found a small positive association between inner speech use and mind wandering, as well as a medium positive association of mindfulness with self-regulation, in accordance with claims made in the literature. We found a medium positive relationship between mindfulness awareness and inner speech responses, potentially because mindfulness awareness represents an active state of self-focus, requiring verbal self-directed probes. Conversely, the correlations between reports of inner speech use and mindfulness acceptance were medium and negatively associated, perhaps because self-acceptance is a less active process that does not require as much self-directed speech as acquiring self-awareness, or perhaps self-acceptance consists of silencing the mind. Furthermore, the mindfulness-acceptance responses were negatively associated with mind wandering but positively correlated with self-concept clarity and self-regulation (all significant and of medium strength). Another noteworthy result was that mind wandering was negatively correlated with self-concept clarity and self-regulation, in accordance with the view that mind wandering represents a self-escape mechanism and thus impedes the transparency of one’s self-view and efforts at controlling oneself. This study pieces together what has been presented in the literature, examining variables that are typically studied in isolation. Further, these results have implications for the future study of self-regulation in that self-focused attention, self-acceptance, and self-concept clarity may be mediators on the paths between self-talk or inner speech use and self-regulation.
... The misconception of multitasking jobs and activities, even in our personal lives, distracts our attention and awareness of the present moment every second, and we act mindlessly on things we deem non-essential to get attention. These actions can confuse people's emotions and thoughts, making their quality of life difficult to maintain (Ostafin et al. 2015, p. 81). ...
... It is a strong focus on design tools to better empathise with uses and needs and work with them in a co-working methodology. For these reasons, Niedderer et al. (2017) (Langer, 2000;Feldman, et al., 2007;Walach, et al., 2006;Tanay and Bernstein, 2013), Awareness (Langer, 2000;Kabat-Zinn, 2003;Ostafin et al., 2015;Feldman et al., 2007;Walach et al., 2006;Cardaciotto et al., 2008;Tanay and Bernstein, 2013;Baer. et al., 2006), Novelty-Seeking, Novelty-Producing, and Engagement (Langer, 2000;Pirson et al., 2012). ...
This doctoral study is about Mindful Design as an approach to promoting Mindfulness. The main focus of this study is to transfer the Mindful Design approach and tools for industrial design into a higher education context that can be understood and applied by design students. Mindful Design is a design approach based on the socio-cognitive theory of Mindfulness. The concept of Mindful Design was introduced by Niedderer (2004) to describe how design products can promote and enhance mindful attention by interrupting or enhancing the user’s interaction or increase his awareness during social activities. Niedderer (2004) notes that Mindful Design can be associated with behavioural change and extends the understanding of social cognitive Mindfulness by changing the expected functions of product use. The theoretical framework addresses the differences in Mindfulness streams, their benefits, and their applicability to design context, topics that provide an important foundation for the development of Mindful Design criteria and tools. Based on this research, design criteria were selected to increase user awareness when interacting with mindful products. Furthermore, learning and teaching theories in the context of design education were discussed to support the chosen teaching strategies for the transfer of knowledge of the Mindful Design approach to design students. These themes were crucial in determining the current research question of this doctoral study. The research methodology focused on testing the applicability of the design and teaching tools developed to determine how socio-cognitive Mindfulness theory can be effectively and understandably introduced into the design context for design students in higher education. In Investigation One, a collection of tools and strategies were developed to determine student understanding and demonstrate the importance of the Mindful Design approach. As a result of this research, the Mindful Design Evaluation was developed and evaluated based on the socio-cognitive dimension of Mindfulness. Investigation Two sought to measure what students learned from the Mindful Design approach and whether the design proposals developed by students in the intervention group achieved higher levels of socio-cognitive Mindfulness than the design proposals proposed by the control group. Finally, the results of Investigation Two supported the assumptions made on the basis of the findings of the theoretical framework. The tools and strategies used to teach and apply the Mindful Design approach to design students showed significant results when applied in a higher education context.
... Klomp confirm that mindfulness has a direct impact on the outcomes of the JD-R model where it predicts employee health and well-being which can strengthen the job resources. The Self-determination theory akin to several psychological frameworks, extends mindful awareness as a critical fragment of selfregulation (Ayesha et al., 2020) and healthy well-being (Ostafin et al., 2015). Research studies postulate that mindfulness mediates the effect of neuroticism in connection to well-being (Wenzel et al., 2015) and negatively correlates with anxiety, depression, stress, and distress (Baer et al., 2012). ...
... Higher positive psychological well-being was reported from participants with high levels of mindfulness. Studies from the past posit that there is a negative correlation with mindfulness and stress, depression and anxiety which indicates negative psychological well-being (Christopher et al., 2012) and associated positively with well-being (Zubair et al., 2018) which is supported by the Self-determination Theory (Ostafin et al., 2015). Mindfulness at work influences an employee's cognitive appraisal and diminishes the emotional reactions towards uncertainties and threatening events. ...
The Conservation of Resources theory has been set in motion to
understand the psychological wellbeing at work-place-focused
foothold of the realm in light of the JD-R theory. Life insurance
agents experience multifarious stressors and challenges that negatively impact their psychological wellbeing. The current pandemic
situation of the COVID-19 outbreak has directed significance to
workplace health promotion as a novel postulation addressed in
this study. This research is the first to empirically test and investigate the predicting effects of perceived stress, mindfulness, social
support, and self-efficacy on psychological well-being among 794
Life Insurance Agents in India. This non-experimental research
method incorporates the reflective model analysed through Smart
PLS-3. A power analysis is executed by drawing evidence from
India recruited through random sampling. Results show mindfulness as the strongest and most effective predictor of positive psychological well-being. This study underpins the significance of
mindfulness-based interventions in unprecedented times during
the COVID-19 pandemic where the mindful selling of the right
policies surges and assists the agents to build a long-term relationship with the customers. Future studies should try to test
these interventions with multi-centred research that can further
enhance the robustness of research findings.
... This reflects a low level of self-regulation. Students tend to respond automatically with a tendency to seek pleasure and avoid difficulties (Ostafin, 2015). Self-regulation is needed to regulate behavior and actions, as well as being the main driving force of an individual's personality to restrain themselves from the temptation of temporary pleasure and delaying work, which can threaten the achievement of their goals in an academic context (Bandura, 2005). ...
Academic procrastination is the failure to complete an academic task within the desired timeframe or postpone the task until the last moment. Academic procrastination can be reduced if students have good self-regulation and motivation. This study aims to empirically test the role of learning motivation in academic procrastination with self-regulation as a mediator. This study uses a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional study. The population in this study is students who are working on a thesis, have worked on at least one semester, and are active in organizations. Sampling was done using purposive sampling techniques. The instruments used are the learning motivation scale, the academic procrastination scale, and the self-regulation scale. The data analysis in this study uses a path analysis technique with the partial least square structural equation model (PLS-SEM). The program or software used to conduct the analysis is SmartPLS 4. The results showed that self-regulation played a mediator between learning motivation and academic procrastination, with a significance value of 0.001 (p<0.05). Coefficient Test -0.242 (p-Value,0.001<0.05). Regulation partially mediates the relationship between learning motivation and academic procrastination. The conclusion of this study states that self-regulation plays an important role in mediating the relationship between learning motivation and academic procrastination in students. In other words, the ability to self-regulate effectively can help students overcome the tendency to delay completing academic assignments.
... MBIs are effective for improving many psychological disorders, including depression, anxiety, stress, insomnia, addiction, psychosis, pain, hypertension, weight control andcancer-related symptoms, but further research is warranted to look into its efficacy on different problems (Keng et al. 2011;Zhang et al. 2021). Research shows that MBIs lead to decreased emotion regulation difficulties and reactivity to emotional stimuli and situations, increased willingness to experience negative Foreword to the Classic Edition xiv emotions, emotional stability and a de-centered perspective (Heppner et al. 2015). Attention monitoring skills are only associated with beneficial mental and physical health outcomes when accompanied by acceptance skills (Lindsay and Creswell 2019), as taught in DBT and most MBIs. ...
... Additionally, trait mindfulness may promote a more positive evaluation of events (Finkelstein-fox, Park, & Riley, 2019) and lessen the habitual self-referential thinking (e.g., anxiety, rumination, self-criticism) that frequently feeds emotional suffering, especially in people with emotional regulation disorders (Farb, Anderson, & Segal, 2012;Mennin & Fresco, 2016). This quality of being mindfully aware may also help people utilize flexible emotion regulation techniques (Ostafi, Robinson, & Meier, 2015) and/or improve their capacity to take meaningful acts (and avoid impulsive ones), even in the face of strong emotions (Gratz & Roemer, 2004). ...
... Mindfulness as a trait and trainable skill has received support in improving negative emotional states (Bowlin & Baer, 2012;Carpenter et al., 2019;Eberth & Sedlmeier, 2012;Ostafin et al., 2015;Tomlinson et al., 2017), enhancing emotion regulation capacities (i.e., the process of effectively managing one's emotional states; Berking & Whitley, 2014) and improving college students' psychological wellness (Felver et al., 2018;Vidic & Cherup, 2019). Mindfulness consists of five processes (Carmody et al., 2009) two of which are found to be consistently associated with reduced psychological distress: acting with awareness (i.e., being attentive to present-moment experience and not operating automatically) and nonjudgement (i.e., being accepting and not critical of one's thoughts and feelings) (Barcaccia et al., 2019;Carpenter et al., 2019). ...
Despite the importance of peer relationships in college, limited research has explored factors protecting students from the development of relational aggression and victimization, despite evidence of the manifestation of these phenomena. This study explored associations between negative emotional states, mindfulness and self-compassion, and relational aggression and victimization in a sample of college students. PDF EPUB
Share icon
ABSTRACT
Despite the importance of peer relationships in college, limited research has explored factors protecting students from the development of relational aggression and victimization, despite evidence of the manifestation of these phenomena. This study explored associations between negative emotional states, mindfulness and self-compassion, and relational aggression and victimization in a sample of college students. It was hypothesized that facets of mindfulness and self-compassion would predict lesser relational aggression/victimization and mediate the relationship between negative emotional states and relational aggression/victimization. A total of 389 university students were recruited from United Kingdom tertiary education institutions completing measures on relational aggression and victimization, mindfulness and self-compassion, and negative emotional states. Using regression analyses, results indicated that mindfulness facets of acting with awareness and nonjudgement negatively predicted relational aggression, while acting with awareness and reverse self-isolation negatively predicted relational victimization. The findings supported the hypothesis that mindfulness facets mediated the relationship between negative emotional states and relational aggression/victimization suggesting that these processes may operate protectively. The study considers research and practice implications in colleges.
... Future research could also apply the Rubicon model and mindset theory of action phases to this entrepreneurial context and validate further antecedents that favor entrepreneurial implementation intentions. Mindfulness, termed "a receptive attention to and awareness of present events and experience" (Brown et al., 2007, p. 212) may be such an antecedent, as it has been shown to have positive benefits on the individual-level as well as for work performance (e.g., Hyland et al., 2015;Ostafin et al., 2015). ...
Implementation intentions, as conceptualized in the Rubicon model of action phases, facilitate the initiation of intended action. As a self-regulatory strategy, implementation intentions avoid the shortcoming of intention models (i.e., theory of planned behavior), which are able only partially to explain the variance of action caused by entrepreneurial intention. While early studies have shown the efficacy of implementation intentions in complex settings such as entrepreneurship (inter alia), an understanding of how implementation intentions come into play is missing. We address this gap and build on a unique sample of 161 responses from entrepreneurs receiving a grant for venture creation between 2018 and 2022 to investigate the role of entrepreneurial imaginativeness in implementation intentions. We find support for a curvilinear relationship between creative and practical imaginativeness and implementation intentions. Our study contributes theoretically to all frameworks that guide it, theory of implementation intentions and the Rubicon model and mindset theory of action phases, and validates them in the entrepreneurial context. By establishing entrepreneurial imaginativeness as an antecedent of implementation intentions, we provide entrepreneurs with a recipe for implementation intentions and add to the extant research on consequents of entrepreneurial imaginativeness.
... 45 Top-down support can be seen through lateral prefrontal cortex activation and decreased amygdala activity, 46 while bottom-up processes show decreased prefrontal activation associated with top-down processes. 45,47 Both processes suggest that prefrontal-limbic interactions are present. These two processes are not conflicting but might show how changes from novice level to expert levels of mindfulness use can lead to a change from top-down process to more bottom-up. ...
Purpose
The number of mindfulness intervention projects is continually increasing. Within the educational environment, mindfulness has purported links to well-being, positive behaviour, educational and cognitive performance. Trait mindfulness is related to rational thinking and better performance in cognitive tests, suggesting that innate mindfulness ability contributes to self-regulation ability and thus the efficacy of mindfulness interventions. The current study investigates whether mindfulness is a moderating factor. It examines correlations between cognitive performance and trait mindfulness. The study investigates the influence of trait mindfulness on the ability of students to enter state mindfulness in an attempt to understand the role both types of mindfulness may have on cognitive performance.
Participants and Method
Two-hundred and five male students aged fifteen and sixteen completed the adolescent version of the Mindfulness Awareness Scale, the Cognitive Reflection Test, and the Toronto Mindfulness Scale.
Results
Hierarchical regression analysis found that state mindfulness was a predictor of cognitive reflection ability. ANOVA also found that having either trait or state mindfulness predicted higher cognitive reflection scores, but only state mindfulness had a significant effect on cognitive reflection. Trait mindfulness was not a moderating factor.
Conclusion
Both state and trait aspects of mindfulness ability influence cognitive performance. Those with higher trait mindfulness ability are better able to enter state mindfulness and thus had better cognitive reflection scores. However, where it is possible to induce state mindfulness into those with low trait mindfulness, CRT scores were also higher although not significantly so.
... In line with the S-ART framework (Vago and Silbersweig, 2012), randomized-controlled trials (RCTs) and systematic reviews/meta-analyses showed an increase of trait mindfulness and a reduction of stress following MT (e.g., MBSR; Khoury et al., 2013aKhoury et al., ,b, 2015. MT has also been implicated in successful self-regulation including attention and emotion regulation (Grossman et al., 2004;Ostafin et al., 2015;Tang et al., 2015). Improvements in emotion regulation associated with mindfulness training have been investigated through various approaches, including experimental, self-report studies, and measurement of peripheral physiology and neuroimaging (Hölzel et al., 2011). ...
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, over 14% of the US population practice mindfulness meditation. The effects of mindfulness training on physical and mental health have been consistently documented, but its effects on interpersonal relationships are not yet fully understood or investigated. Interpersonal relationships play a crucial role in the wellbeing of individuals and society, and therefore, warrants further study. The aim of this paper is to present a tri-process theoretical model of interpersonal mindfulness and a study protocol to validate the proposed model. Specifically, according to the proposed model, mindfulness meditation training increases the self-awareness, self-regulation, and prosociality of those receiving the training, which ameliorates the quality of interpersonal interactions and the socioemotional support provided to other individuals. Finally, better socioemotional support increases the support receiver’s ability to regulate their emotions. Using a multiphasic longitudinal design involving 640 participants randomized into 480 dyads, the proposed protocol aims to validate the tri-process model and to investigate its mechanisms of actions. The proposed study has important theoretical and social implications and will allow devising new and more effective interpersonal mindfulness programs with applications in multiple fields.
... A way of showing appreciation is to engage and be present with gifts bestowed upon us. This entails being in a state of relaxation by being in the moment and appreciative of a positive experience rather than being overwhelmed with thoughts about shoulds, what-ifs, worries, to-do lists, etc. Practicing the presence of mind has been shown to reduce anxiety and depression and help regulate emotions (Ostafin et al., 2015). The image below (Figure 9) illustrates the difference between being "mindful" versus "mind-full" (i.e., having a mind full of thoughts or worries). ...
This workbook is specifically designed for those struggling with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or, as is typically called in the Islamic and Arabic literature waswasa or al- waswās al-qahrī in modern Arabic. This workbook was written in order to assist them during their journey to recovery. OCD symptoms can interact with religious beliefs and practices in religiously observant populations, resulting in what is known as OCD scrupulosity. Oftentimes, when OCD takes on religious manifestations, individuals experiencing such struggles may be reluctant to seek out secular healing modalities. This is because those afflicted with this condition are typically most concerned with religious rituals or aspects of their religious lives and, therefore, are likely to want to situate their treatment within the context of their religious faith traditions. This is why they may be more likely to seek out religious clergy rather than mental health providers. It is precisely for this reason that we developed this workbook in order to provide an integrated treatment approach that is practical for those suffering to be able to utilize.
This workbook is rooted in a therapeutic modality known as Traditional Islamically Integrated Psychotherapy (TIIP). This modality provides an Islamic framework for the integration of the behavioral and Islamic sciences. Thus, the workbook draws from both Islamic traditions as well as the modern psychological literature on OCD in order to provide optimal treatment for Muslims struggling with this condition. The layout of this book is consistent with the TIIP model, starting with an introduction to the nature and manifestation of OCD in Islam then working on restructuring the ʿaql or one’s thoughts and perspectives, reforming the nafs or one’s compulsive behaviors, regulating emotions or iḥsās, and introducing more direct spiritual interventions that work on the soul or rūh. These are the essential elements of the human psyche according to the TIIP model that are addressed throughout this workbook.
... Possessing a high degree of trust in one's entrepreneurial abilities not only enhances the appraisal of opportunities but also increases the perception of potential gains while minimizing perceived risks (Krueger and Dickson, 1994) and has been linked to successful OR (Krueger and Brazeal, 1994). Mindful individuals exhibit better behavioral regulation (Ostafin et al., 2015), allowing them to gain an advantage from a longer mental gap between a situation and their response to it through equanimous observation of their experiences (Brown et al., 2007). By fostering a greater sense of agency over their emotions, cognitions, and behaviors, mindfulness may also enhance trust in one's abilities to execute necessary actions effectively. ...
Entrepreneurial venture creation hinges on opportunity recognition, which is enabled by malleable cognitive characteristics such as alertness, creativity, and entrepreneurial self-efficacy. Meditation presents a promising strategy for cultivating these antecedents. In two studies, we examined the immediate effects of meditation on the antecedents of opportunity recognition. In Study 1, a 12-min guided meditation was administered to nascent entrepreneurs in a pre-post within-subjects experimental design. In Study 2, a 15-min breath counting task was used to assess how variations in accuracy and breathing rate shaped differences in outcomes. We found that the intervention in Study 1 had a small effect on alertness (d = 0.44), a medium effect on creativity (d = 0.79), and a large effect on entrepreneurial self-efficacy (d = 0.93). Study 2 revealed a more nuanced relationship, whereby faster breathing rates predicted greater counting accuracy and alertness; in contrast, slower breathing rates and more frequent mind-wandering predicted greater uniqueness in the generated ideas. These findings suggest that meditation is useful for nascent entrepreneurs to prime their minds for successful opportunity recognition. The improvement in creativity may not solely be due to meditative practice itself but rather to the periods of mind-wandering that occur during the practice.
... The self-monitoring category is related to the skill of observing internal and external signals, and adjusting the level of consumption based on bodily sensations and environmental perceptions. In this sense, the ability to self-monitor is closely related to self-regulation processes (27). ...
Background: To develop prevention programs or early interventions to reduce alcohol consumption and related problems, it is essential understand social and cultural variations in human behaviors and beliefs. This study aimed to assess Brazilian college student´s motivations to control drinking and use protective strategies, while taking into account the influence of patterns of alcohol use, social situations and settings
Methods: Qualitative individual interviews were carried out with 23 college students with diverse settings and patterns of alcohol use (AUDIT - low-risk to suggestive of dependence), using snowball sampling up to the theoretical saturation point. The NVivo software was used for the content analysis.
Results: Data analysis highlighted three main themes a) Contexts and consumption patterns (such as bars, “open bar” parties and others); b) Protective Strategies (such as stop-drinking intervals, eating before or during drinking, returning home in the company of a friend); c) Motivations in respect drinking control (such as sense of responsibility, bad previous experiences, family and religious issues). Protective strategies and motivation to control drinking were perceived to be less prominent in contexts and patterns of higher alcohol consumption.
Conclusions: Motivations and protective strategies varied according to the drinker’s profile, social situations and the settings in which they consumed alcohol. These different factors need to be considered designing of preventive programs.
... We assert our entitlement to the continuous availability of non-local goods, which leads to de-localization of food systems, carbon pollution, and social exploitation. Alternatively, empathy, compassion, cooperation, and creativity, all of which are fruits of contemplative practices (Brown, Creswell, & Ryan, 2015;Ostafin, Robinson, & Meier, 2015), can lead to more just and effective forms of social and ecological stewardship (Wapner, 2016), and are considered competencies of sustainability . For this reason, many scholars consider contemplative practice to be an essential component of pursuing a sustainable future (Ericson, Kjønstad, & Barstad, 2014;Eaton et al., 2016;Wapner, 2016;Wamsler et al., 2017). ...
Although the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (2005-2014) was a period of rapid pedagogical revitalization and innovation, much sustainability education today is still delivered using transmissive and instrumental pedagogies common across higher education. Now that the field has integrated many of the insights from the decade, students and facilitators should continue innovating along themes consistent with the goals of sustainability: transformation and emancipation. Yet, more clarity is needed about pedagogical approaches that will transform and emancipate students, allowing them to become innovators that change existing structures and systems. This paper presents a framework combining four interacting (i.e., complementary) pedagogies (transmissive, transformative, instrumental, and emancipatory) in sustainability education, helping to reify pedagogical concepts, rebel against outdated curricula, and orient facilitators/learners on their journey toward transformative and emancipatory learning. The authors begin by reviewing the evolution of sustainability education and transformative learning theory prior to introducing the framework. The paper concludes with a vision of sustainability education that incorporates contemplative pedagogies as essential methods in a field in need of cultivating hope, resilience, and emergence.
... In the last 35 years, there has been a broad and increasing interest in mindfulness (e.g., see Baer, 2003;Bishop et al., 2004;Brown, Bravo, et al., 2015;Kabat-Zinn, 2003;Langer & Moldoveanu, 2000;Malinowski, 2013;Shapiro et al., 2006). This interest is both academic and practical, as practices that facilitate being mindful have been linked with improvements in physical and psychological well-being including happiness, emotional regulation, neuroendocrine function, control of attention, and alleviating and treating mental health problems (Baer, 2003;Bishop et al., 2004;Brown, Bravo, et al., 2015;Brown, Creswell, & Ryan, 2015;Hölzel et al., 2011;Kabat-Zinn, 2003;Langer & Moldoveanu, 2000;Ostafin et al., 2015;Shapiro et al., 2006). There has not been any particular unifying conception of mindfulness within this literature, and variety in both theory and practice has not led to any particular integration between certain schools. ...
The study of mindfulness proceeds from a number of perspectives. Two of the best-known academic conceptualizations of mindfulness are those identified with Kabat-Zinn and Langer. These conceptions, meditative and sociocognitive, have been built from different foundations and have been argued to be quite distinct. However, it has been suggested that they may be related through a shared component of self-regulation of attention. To put this hypothesis to a test, a convenience sample of participants (n = 208) were asked to complete the Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Langer Mindfulness Scale (LMS), and the Self-Regulation Scale (SRS), a measure of the self-regulation of attention. These three dispositional measures were shown to be correlated, suggesting that reliance on the capacity to regulate attention in pursuit of a goal is shared by these two approaches to mindfulness. On further analysis, the correlation between FFMQ and the LMS was found to be higher for those participants with the highest SRS scores. The implications of this somewhat counter-intuitive finding are discussed.
... 19). Thus, this lack of significance could tentatively be argued to be due to the fact that mindfulness dimensions are independent factors from psychological flexibility factors [56,57]. ...
The present study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of a Persian version of the Psychological Flexibility Epilepsy Questionnaire (P-PFEQ). Transcultural adaptation and validation of the Persian version of the PFEQ were performed using translation and back-translation with pilot testing (on 17 patients) and expert evaluation. Participants in the current study involved 100 patients with an EEG-verified epilepsy diagnosis and an average age of 30.96 years (SD ± 6.46) (63% were female). Data collection included a sociodemographic questionnaire, epilepsy-specific questionnaire, the Depression-Anxiety-stress scale (DASS-21), the Insomnia Severity Index (ISI), the 31-item Quality-of-Life questionnaire in Epilepsy (QOLIE-31), the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ), the Committed Action Questionnaire (CAQ), and the short form of the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI). Descriptive and inferential analyses were conducted by SPSS software V.26. The P-PFEQ demonstrated semantic, conceptual , and content validity in equivalence with the Swedish version. Based on Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), five items were eliminated and unidimensional scale of PFEQ with 12 items, explaining 50.38% of the total variance, was accepted. The scale showed good reliability through internal consistency (Cronbach's a of 0.9) and temporal stability on retest (n = 85, Intraclass correlation = 0.92). Convergent and divergent validity findings were acceptable for the P-PFEQ. The findings show that the P-PFEQ is a reliable and valid scale for assessing psychological flexibility in the Iranian patients with epilepsy. Also, it can be confidently recommended as a useful instrument in clinical practice.
Background and Objectives: Fifty percent of individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) experience self-harm. One of the crucial factors related to self-harm is feelings of emptiness. While inner strengths, such as the Five Precepts, meditation, and equanimity, have been identified as potential buffers against negative mental health outcomes in BPD, their role in mediating the relationship between feelings of emptiness and self-harm is not well-documented. This study aimed to explore how these inner strengths mediate the relationship between feelings of emptiness and self-harm in individuals exhibiting BPD symptoms. Materials and Methods: A total of 302 Thai participants exhibiting BPD symptoms completed several assessments: the SCID-II Personality Disorder Questionnaire for BPD to assess feelings of emptiness and self-harm, the Inner-Strength-Based Inventory (i-SBI) to evaluate the Five Precepts, meditation, and equanimity, and the Outcome Inventory Depression (OI-Depression) to assess depression. Mean and standard deviation were used for continuous variables, such as age and OI-Depression. A t-test assessed mean differences in continuous variables between the self-harm group and the non-self-harm group. Chi-square tests examined differences in categorical variables with three or more levels, such as education. Pearson’s correlation and linear regression analyzed relationships between continuous variables, including i-SBI and OI-Depression scores. Mediation analysis was performed using IBM SPSS and AMOS, with self-harm as the outcome variable, feelings of emptiness as the predictor, and inner strengths as mediators. Results: The participants had a mean age of 36.56, with 65.4% being female. The analysis showed that the Five Precepts, meditation, and equanimity significantly mediated the relationship between feelings of emptiness and self-harm, with a standardized coefficient of β = 0.534 (95% CI = 0.417 to 0.647, p < 0.001). The indirect effect of feelings of emptiness through these inner strengths was significant (β = 0.034, 95% CI = 0.009 to 0.075, p = 0.005). The mediation model explained 38% of the variance in self-harm with a 3% increase, albeit small but significant. Conclusions: This study highlights that inner strengths negatively mediate the relationship between feelings of emptiness and self-harm, indicating that as these inner strengths increase, the direct impact of feelings of emptiness on self-harm decreases. These findings suggest that targeting inner strengths as protective factors could be a valuable strategy in developing interventions aimed at reducing self-harm by addressing the underlying emotional challenges associated with BPD.
Background/Objectives: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) have emerged in recent years as a strong candidate for the treatment of a range of difficulties faced by individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), including cognitive, emotional, and social aspects. Therefore, we aimed to conduct a review that systematically examined the efficacy of MBIs for individuals with ASD and their caregivers. Methods: This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Our literature search was conducted within the MEDLINE database. We included in the review only longitudinal or intervention studies focusing mainly on mindfulness principles, while we excluded mixed intervention studies. We only included studies that explicitly utilized quantitative methodologies for evaluating the outcomes of the interventions, including mental health indices (e.g., stress, anxiety, depression) and assessments of cognitive and social skills (e.g., attention, prosociality). We conducted also a risk of bias assessment through the method of the Cochrane risk of bias tool for intervention studies ROBINS-I. Results: Thirty-seven studies were included in the review, and we grouped the studies by the targets of the interventions, i.e., adults (n = 12), children and adolescents (n = 9), caregivers and medical staff (n = 13), and combined intervention for both children/adolescents and their parents/caregivers (n 5). The reviewed papers seem to support the feasibility and utility of mindfulness interventions for persons with ASD and their caregivers, but any recommendations based on this body of evidence should be made with caution due to the overall low quality of the studies conducted so far. Conclusions: The review reveals a positive outcome, including the alleviation of psychological distress, reduced behavioral problems, and enhanced cognitive and social skills in individuals with ASD. Despite such promising results, the review notes a limitation in the scarcity of MBIs for young patients, emphasizing caution in universally endorsing the existing literature. Moreover, the results underline the urgency of the exploration of tailored interventions for different ASD subgroups, considering varying levels of autism, and expanding support to teachers in educational settings.
The present study examined the relationships between second language (L2) English learners’ mindfulness and their memorization/learning of figurative meaning senses of L2 phrasal verbs (PVs). One hundred and twenty Chinese university students participated in the study. The research instruments were the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), a receptive and productive PV tests, and focus group interviews. The results showed that there were strong and significant correlations between the FFMQ and the tests. In addition, mindfulness levels correlated almost equally to receptive and productive gains. Further, differences among three groups of the students formed according to scores on the PV tests were significant in terms of scores on the FFMQ. Among facets of the FFMQ, ‘Non-reactivity’ was revealed to be the strongest predictor for the students’ performance in the PV tests. Based on the findings of the study, research and pedagogical implications are discussed.
I l sistema scolastico dovrà cambiare radicalmente in questo decennio se vuole rispondere alle pressanti sfide del presente e agli interessi delle generazioni future. Oltre agli aspetti strutturali del sistema, i prerequisiti più importanti per questa trasformazione sono le attitudini e le competenze degli insegnanti: i loro orizzonti pedagogici, le loro abilità didattiche e socio-emotive, la loro presenza personale e la loro dedizione, nonché la loro resilienza e creatività. La trasformazione delle scuole può avere successo solo se gli insegnanti sono i protagonisti dell'interfaccia con alunni e genitori. Renderli forti per questo è un compito centrale della formazione degli insegnanti. Molti insegnanti amano la loro professione, la praticano con grande impegno e la vivono come una fonte di crescita personale, di significato e di realizzazione. Allo stesso tempo, però, vivono in prima persona le sfide quotidiane e spesso si sentono sopraffatti e lasciati soli. Incontrano le contraddizioni del sistema scolastico, le aspettative irrealizzabili della società, la mancanza di consenso tra i colleghi o l'ingenuità pedagogica e il disprezzo del pubblico. Per molti, questo porta a desiderare un sostegno attraverso • scambio con i colleghi, sostegno emotivo e suggerimenti pratici, • rigenerazione e costruzione della resilienza di fronte allo stress, e • sostegno nel percorso di crescita personale e di padronanza professionale. Su questi tre livelli, il gruppo annuale Riscoprire il cuore della scuola si propone di offrire agli insegnanti un sostegno continuo e personalizzato in un circolo collegiale di fiducia.
The paper describes the new format of teacher education applied in "Rediscovering the Heart of Schools".
Background
Researchers and practitioners are concerned with the impact of work-family conflict on the well-being of workers, including those in the health care sector, and previous research suggested that nurses were experiencing a range of negative outcomes.
Aim
To investigate the potentially mediating role of self-compassion and moderating role of gratitude in the relationships between work-family conflict and both life satisfaction and happiness among Saudi nurses.
Method
A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 368 nurses (men age = 35.18, SD = 6.67, 70.65% of females). Nurses were recruited via social media using convenience sampling techniques. They completed the Satisfaction with Life Scale, the Subjective Happiness Scale, the Gratitude Questionnaire–6, the Self-Compassion Scale, and the Work-Family Conflict Scale, as well as a set of demographic questions. The data were analyzed using PROCESS MACRO model 4 and 8, and the reporting followed STROBE checklist.
Results
As expected, the study found a negative relationship between work-family conflict and both life satisfaction and happiness. These relationships were mediated by self-compassion. For the relationships between work-family conflict and life satisfaction and happiness, and between family-work conflict and happiness, this mediation was moderated by gratitude.
Conclusion
This study built on positive psychology and demonstrated that the positive personality traits of self-compassion and gratitude can engender enhanced life satisfaction and happiness among Saudi nurses.
Purpose of the Study
Research indicates that acquiring compassion is an integral part to positive outcomes to Mindfulness-based interventions (MBI), yet there is both theoretic and empirical literature suggesting that people with persistent pain are more likely to experience challenges and distress when engaging compassion-based practices. Mindfulness for Health is a standardised MBI for people with persistent pain and health conditions. This study sought to explore the positive, neutral and difficult experiences of compassion-based practice and meditation for participants in Mindfulness for Health to further understand implications and risks for participants of MBI’s.
Method and Design
A qualitative design using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis was applied to explore how participants understood of the experience of compassion-based practice and the meaning they gave to it. Eight participants who had completed the Mindfulness for Health from four separate groups were interviewed about their experience.
Results
Five master themes were identified ‘turning away from self-with-pain’, ‘self-with-pain experienced as shameful’, ‘facilitating change’, ‘turning towards self-with-pain’, and ‘accepting self’. Participants identified both perceived positive changes and difficult emotional experiences during the meditation practice, which they related to the context of compassion in their past and present life.
Conclusions
Developing compassion is an important part of Mindfulness for Health, which is salient for participants as both a challenging and potentially valuable experience. Acquisition of mindfulness skills, supporting group dynamics and modelling compassion are understood as helpful in overcoming personal barriers and challenging experiences. Further research is needed to understand processes involved and explore the experience of non-completers.
Previous research has demonstrated that practicing forest bathing has significant positive effects on adult psychological well-being. Considering the ongoing adolescents’ mental health crisis of increasing anxiety and depression, determining whether forest bathing has similar effects on adolescents is an important expansion of forest bathing research. This study investigated the possibility that forest bathing could improve adolescents’ mental well-being and sought to determine participants’ experiences of forest bathing. It used a convergent, parallel, mixed-methods design that was partially co-created with 24 participants aged 16–18 as part of a youth participatory action research (YPAR) project in which participants practiced forest bathing three times over 3 weeks. As measured using the Warwick–Edinburgh Mental Well-Being Survey, the mean participant mental well-being increased significantly after forest bathing, with moderate to large effect sizes. Participants described reduced stress and increased feelings of relaxation, peace, and happiness. These findings correlate with previous forest bathing research involving adult participants. It is recommended that educators and others who work with adolescents consider forest bathing as a simple, low-cost way to improve adolescents’ mental well-being.
Background
To develop prevention programs or early interventions to reduce alcohol consumption and related problems among college students, it is essential to understand their motivations for drinking and the spontaneous (effective and non-effective) strategies they employ to control, considering the social and cultural contexts influence. This study aimed to explore these factors and the student’s application of selfcare in different situations and environments, as well as to identify their reasons for not drinking.
Methods
The students were invited to participate using a snowball sampling, up to the theoretical saturation point. Qualitative individual semi-structured interviews were carried out and the interviews contents were analyzed using the NVivo software. The participants were 23 college students between 18 and 24 years old, with diverse patterns of alcohol use (low-risk to suggestive of dependence).
Results
Data analysis highlighted three main themes: (a) Contexts (such as bars, “open bar” parties and others) and consumption patterns; (b) Protective Strategies (such as stop-drinking intervals, eating before or during drinking, returning home in the company of a friend); (c) Motivations to control drinking (such as sense of responsibility, bad previous experiences, family and religious issues). Protective strategies and motivation to control drinking were perceived to be less prominent in specific contexts that favor high alcohol consumption, as open bar parties.
Conclusions
Motivations and protective strategies varied according to the drinkers’ profile, social situations and settings in which they consumed alcohol. The results highlight the need for preventive interventions planned for specific drinking patterns and contexts.
Compared to the extensive evidence of the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions, there is only a limited understanding of their mechanisms of change. The three aims of this study are (1) to identify features of self-organization during the process (e.g., pattern transitions), (2) to obtain an impression of the effects of continuous self-assessments and feedback sessions on mindfulness-related stress reduction, and (3) to test the feasibility of high-frequency process monitoring and process feedback. Concerning aim (1), the specific hypothesis is that change will occur as a cascade of discontinuous pattern transitions emerging spontaneously in the sense of not being a reaction to external input. This single case study describes changing patterns of multiple time series that were produced by app-based daily self-assessments during and after an 8-week mindfulness-based stress reduction program. After this MBSR program, the participant (a female nurse) continued the self-assessment and the mindfulness practice for a further 10 months. The results confirm findings on the positive effects of mindfulness programs for healthcare professionals, especially on coping with work-related stress. The analysis of the time series data supports the hypothesis of self-organization as a possible mechanism of change manifesting as a cascade of phase transitions in the dynamics of a biopsychosocial system. At the end of the year, the participant reported a beneficial impact of daily monitoring and systematic feedback on the change process. The results underline the feasibility and usefulness of continuous high-frequency monitoring during and after mindfulness interventions.
This paper explores the overlap and relationship between Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) as an evolution-informed, biopsychosocial approach to the mind and two Buddhist approaches to the development of insight and meditation. We present this exploration in terms of a three-way exposition between PG (Paul Gilbert), a clinical psychologist and compassion-focused therapist, MH (Malcolm Huxter), also a clinical psychologist and long-term meditation practitioner, primarily in the Theravada Buddhist traditions, and CH (Choden), a long-term meditation practitioner and monastic of Mahayana Buddhism. We share overlapping but different approaches to the processes of insight, understanding, and the training of compassion.
In this article, we apply and assess the concept of transreligiosity in the study of formally educated and licensed psychologists and psychotherapists in Finland who integrate mindfulness practices in their professional toolkit. Our analytical focus complements the discussion on the use of religious and spiritual traditions as therapeutic resources by turning scholarly attention from individual coping tools to the professional skills of therapeutic work and from complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) practices to mainstream health care and education. In the field of mindfulness research, we add to the cumulative body of ethnographic approaches by analyzing the mindfulness-related individual learning paths of mental health professionals through qualitative interview data. Based on our analysis, we conclude that the professional skills of using mindfulness practices in secular health care and education can result from transreligious learning trajectories, in which psychologists and psychotherapists supplement science-based academic education with learning in Buddhist communities and training with Buddhist teachers. This role of Buddhist environments and resources points to a blind spot in the current understanding of adult and professional learning, in which the value and position of religious traditions as possible complementary sources of professional knowledge and skills are not sufficiently recognized.
Mindfulness is a multi-faceted construct that involves paying attention to thoughts and emotions without automatically reacting and being critical of them. Recent research has suggested that mindfulness might play an important role in reducing problematic alcohol use. Further, Readiness to Change (RTC) is related to motivation to change drinking behaviours. The RTC scale identifies motivation to change drinking behaviours including Precontemplation, Contemplation, and Action stages. The current study investigated, for the first time, the relationship between mindfulness (and its facets) and RTC in relation to drinking behaviours. Undergraduate students from Western Sydney University (N = 279) were screened for drinking levels using the Alcohol Use Disorder Identification Test (AUDIT) and then completed the Readiness to Change Questionnaire (RCT) and the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), which includes the following facets: Acting with Awareness, Non-Judging of Inner Experience, Non-Reactivity to Inner Experience, Describing, and Observing. Results show that overall, mindfulness and its facets negatively correlated with RTC. Multiple regression analysis further showed that Awareness and Non-Judgement facets negatively predicted RTC. These findings provide insight into how the facets of mindfulness interact with the drinking motives of individuals and their intentions to change drinking behaviours. Based on these findings, we recommend the incorporation of mindfulness techniques in interventions targeting problematic drinking.
Background:
Virtual reality used for the treatment of mental health disorders is showing promising potential in clinical practice. Increasing self-compassion and self-protections and decreasing self-criticism have been identified as trans-diagnostic mechanisms helping to build a resilient self. The goal of this systematic review was to provide an overview of research studies about virtual reality while exploring its effectiveness in increasing self-compassion and self-protection and decreasing self-criticism.
Methods:
On 6 December 2022, titles, abstracts, and, where available, keywords were searched in the following databases: PubMed, Scopus, and Web of Science. The inclusion criteria were: empirical study; quantitative methodology; outcomes measured, including self-compassion and/or self-protection, and/or self-criticism; pre/post and/or control group intervention measures of selected outcomes; participants aged 18 and above; application of virtual reality technology as part of the intervention; full study availability; and English language. Exclusion criteria were: ruminations related only to physical pain; self-protection in the context of physical survival; VR used to increase ruminations.
Results:
Selection criteria were met by 19 studies (two randomized controlled trials, 16 longitudinal studies, and one case study) with an overall number of 672 participants. Results suggest that VR interventions targeting self-criticism, self-compassion, and self-protection might be effective for non-clinical (self-compassion) as well as clinical (self-criticism and self-protection) samples.
Discussion:
The present systematic review partially supports the effectiveness of VR interventions on self-criticism, self-protection, and self-compassion. To properly answer the question of its effectiveness, more randomized control trials with larger samples from different populations are needed. The results are also limited by the variability of intervention protocols and the amount of exposure to VR. Other: This work was supported by the Vedecká grantová agentúra VEGA under Grant 1/0075/19. This systematic review has not been pre-registered.
Background: Adolescence is a critical developmental period for mentalization and emotion regulation skills. Studies show that during this time, adolescents may experience greater vulnerability to challenges of mental and emotional well-being. Studies also show that self-skills, such as mentalization, self-compassion, and self-control are independently associated with feelings of global self-worth or psychological well-being. To date, no known studies have explored interconnected relations among these self-skills, despite significant overlaps in the social-biological development of these skills. Aims: To investigate interconnected relations among psychological well-being, mentalization, self-compassion and self-control. Gender differences in these relations are explored. Method: As part of a larger, longitudinal study of adolescent well-being, this cross-sectional study drew on a variety of self-report measures, investigating relations among adolescents’ self-reports of psychological well-being, emotion recognition, self-control, and self-compassion. Participants consisted of 88 girls and 57 boys, mean age 13.38. Results: Main results showed associations among emotion recognition, self-control and self-compassion and feelings of global self-worth. Specifically, results showed that understanding negative emotions in others relates to lower levels of self-compassion and feelings of self-worth. Further, adolescents who report low levels of self-control reported uncompassionate self-responding and lower levels of self-worth. Gender differences and implications for further research and adolescent social-emotional interventions are discussed.
Background:
The PERMA well-being scale measures the multidimensionality of well-being in human populations. It highlights positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. Despite the empirical advancement and evolution of the PERMA scale in different settings, its applicability to open and distance learning (ODL) has not been adequately established among undergraduate students in sub-Saharan Africa.
Methodology:
Our study examines the theoretical reliability, validity, and five-factor structure of the shortened 35-item version of the PERMA well-being scale as it was adapted in an ODL tertiary institution in Botswana. The PERMA model of well-being and self-determination theory (SDT) served as theoretical frameworks. We evaluated the adapted PERMA scale's reliability, construct validity, confirmatory factor analysis, and measures of invariance to assess if the data of undergraduate students in an ODL context study fitted the PERMA model of a well-being five-factor structure. We used a multi-stage sampling scheme incorporating a convenience sampling approach where the respondents were invited to voluntarily participate in the study through a WhatsApp group, followed by snowball sampling where we asked the participants to add others to the WhatsApp group during the timeline of the survey; the sample comprised 215 respondents (age: mean = 38.17, standard deviation = 6.472). We collected data from former and active undergraduate B.Ed. (Bachelor of Education) degree students from five regional campuses of the open university through an online survey built into the Qualtrics platform. The Cronbach's alpha indicated that one item should be removed from the engagement domain.
Results:
The overall adapted scale retained a 34-item PERMA well-being scale in the particular ODL context. The goodness of fit indices confirmed the five-domain structure with the 34 items.
Conclusions:
The psychometric properties of the 34-item adapted PERMA well-being scale suggest that it can be a valuable and feasible instrument in ODL in sub-Saharan Africa. Furthermore, the adapted scale can be applied in educational settings moving towards open and distance e-learning forms of delivery.
A growing body of research has documented the negative relationship between mindfulness and ego depletion. However, most of this research has taken a static view while ignoring the effects of mindfulness temporal changes at work. Thus, it is unclear whether the relationship between mindfulness change and ego depletion is still negative when this factor is added into the mix. To address this issue, we examine mindfulness change at the within‐person level (mindfulness shift) and the between‐person level (mindfulness variability) and explore their distinctive impacts on ego depletion and subsequently on counterproductive work behaviour (CWB). Drawing on ego depletion theory and mindfulness research, we propose that an upshift in mindfulness is negatively related to employee ego depletion and CWB at the within‐person level, whereas high chronic mindfulness variability is positively related to employee ego depletion and CWB at the between‐person level. To test our hypotheses, we used an experience sampling methodology to collect three‐wave data within a day from 166 employees over 10 consecutive workdays. At the within‐person level, we observed a negative and indirect effect of an upshift in daily mindfulness on daily CWB via daily ego depletion. At the between‐person level, we found a positive and indirect effect of chronic mindfulness variability on chronic CWB via chronic ego depletion.
(1) Background: Acknowledging scant research on integrating mindfulness, empathy, and self-leadership among female university students, this study aimed to investigate the relationships among these three variables, as well as the mediating effect of empathy. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional design was employed with 127 female sophomores in a mindfulness-based liberal arts class at K Women’s University in South Korea. Participants completed a self-reported questionnaire measuring levels of mindfulness, empathy, and self-leadership. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics and correlations between the variables using the SPSS 28 program. The Jamovi 2.2.5 program was used to analyze the mediating effect of empathy. (3) Results: The levels of mindfulness, empathy, and self-leadership were higher than in previous studies. Mindfulness was positively related to empathy (r = 0.407, p < 0.001) and self-leadership (r = 0.635, p < 0.001); empathy was also positively associated with self-leadership (r = 0.635, p < 0.001). Furthermore, empathy mediated the relationship between mindfulness and self-leadership (β = 0.187, p < 0.001). (4) Conclusions: The findings indicate that mindfulness is helpful in improving university students’ self-leadership by reinforcing their empathy, and that an integrated training program of mindfulness and empathy could produce positive effects on promoting self-leadership. The findings can be utilized as a basis for developing programs to improve mindfulness and empathy, eventually improving students’ self-leadership.
Tranquil Abiding is an advanced meditative state of mind that is attained through gradual meditative training focusing on the cultivation of mindfulness and meta-awareness. This paper will focus on the eighteenth-century Tibetan scholar Yeshe Gyaltsen’s manual on Tranquil Abiding. It involves introduction and analysis of the themes of Tranquil Abiding, such as the significance and objects of Tranquil Abiding, its relevance to Special Insight, mental hindrances, and factors which counter them. Illustrated will be how Yeshe Gyaltsen’s point of view, which he calls the Ganden tradition, is influenced by exceptional Indian Mahāyāna masters such as Nāgārjuna, Asaṅga, Śāntideva, Kamalaśīla, Atīśa Dipaṃkaraśrijñāna, and Tsongkhapa. Included will be a discussion of his understanding of amanasikāra.
Although studies have verified the beneficial effects of individual mindfulness in the workplace, the knowledge of how leader mindfulness crosses over to team members’ interpersonal behavior via affective-related mechanisms as well as when leader mindfulness is ineffective remains limited. Based on motivated empathy theory and the mindfulness literature, this research develops a model in which leader mindfulness enhances leader empathic concern, thereby improving team members’ empathic concern and, in turn, increasing their interpersonal organizational citizenship behavior and decreasing their interpersonal counterproductive work behavior. When workplace hindrance stressors within a team are lower (vs higher), the effect of leader mindfulness on leader empathic concern becomes ineffective. We tested this model using two studies: (1) a quasi-field experiment in which 72 front-line leaders were assigned to either a mindfulness intervention condition or a waitlist control condition and (2) a three-wave, time-lagged survey using a sample of 84 leaders and 697 members. Both studies provide consistent support for our hypotheses.
Mindfulness is assumed to foster the ability to consistently act in line with one’s authentic self; a skill which has been found to enhance students’ autonomous motivated behavior in the educational context. However, evidence regarding how mindfulness can be integrated into existing conceptual frameworks such as the trans-contextual model is scarce. Therefore, the present study aimed to evaluate the role of mindfulness in students’ autonomous motivation in the school and leisure time contexts. Overall, N = 1877 students (M = 14.74 years, SD = 2.63) indicated their self-reported mindfulness, their perceived need for support in physical education, their autonomous motivation during physical education and leisure time, as well as their perceived behavioral control, attitude, subjective norm, and intention toward physical activity. Physical activity was additionally measured physiologically for n = 240 students using accelerometers. Path model analyses revealed that the inclusion of mindfulness substantially improved the trans-contextual model fit. Perceived autonomy support positively predicted mindfulness, which, in turn, predicted autonomous motivation in physical education and leisure time, attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control. Furthermore, mediation analyses revealed the significant indirect effects of mindfulness on physiological and self-reported physical activity. Based on these results, mindfulness can be considered a key factor in fostering students’ motivation to become physically active.
Meditation can exert a profound impact on our mental life, with proficient practitioners often reporting an experience free of boundaries between a separate self and the environment, suggesting an explicit experience of "nondual awareness." What are the neural correlates of such experiences and how do they relate to the idea of nondual awareness itself? In order to unravel the effects that meditation has on the brain's spatial topography, we review functional magnetic resonance imaging brain findings from studies specific to an array of meditation types and meditator experience levels. We also review findings from studies that directly probe the interaction between meditation and the experience of the self. The main results are (i) decreased posterior default mode network (DMN) activity, (ii) increased central executive network (CEN) activity, (iii) decreased connectivity within posterior DMN as well as between posterior and anterior DMN, (iv) increased connectivity within the anterior DMN and CEN, and (v) significantly impacted connectivity between the DMN and CEN (likely a nonlinear phenomenon). Together, these suggest a profound organizational shift of the brain's spatial topography in advanced meditators-we therefore propose a topographic reorganization model of meditation (TRoM). One core component of the TRoM is that the topographic reorganization of DMN and CEN is related to a decrease in the mental-self-processing along with a synchronization with the more nondual layers of self-processing, notably interoceptive and exteroceptive-self-processing. This reorganization of the functionality of both brain and self-processing can result in the explicit experience of nondual awareness. In conclusion, this review provides insight into the profound neural effects of advanced meditation and proposes a result-driven unifying model (TRoM) aimed at identifying the inextricably tied objective (neural) and subjective (experiential) effects of meditation.
For Indian Buddhists and their Tibetan successors, the faculty of “mindfulness” (Skt. smṛti, Tib. dran pa) has been interpreted as the foundation of the threefold development of wisdom (study, reflection, cultivation). Such a model was, in Tibet, the hallmark of the gradual approach to awakening, whereas in the simultaneous approach, the state beyond ordinary mindfulness was emphasized. The complementarity of both approaches has been an essential issue, especially for the Nyingma tradition, which holds the direct teaching of Dzogchen to be the penultimate. To elucidate the operations of mindfulness in this context, this paper analyzes two guidance texts on mindfulness by Rigdzin Jigme Lingpa (1730–1798), Ocean of Qualities: Advice on Mindfulness and Cudgel to Discern the Real: Advice that Shines from Mindfulness and Meta-Awareness, the latter translated into English for the first time in this paper. As this study shows, Jigme Lingpa articulates a twofold typology of mindfulness, first a mindfulness that is effortful and conditioned, and secondarily the distinctive mindfulness of Dzogchen that is inseparable from pure awareness or rigpa (rig pa). Jigme Lingpa thus applies mindfulness to integrate Buddhist teachings and make sense of alternative modes of practice along the Dzogchen path.
Background:
In nurses, self-compassion mitigates the effects of stress, burnout and compassion fatigue, and enhances empathy, compassion and well-being and quality of life. The Self-Compassion Scale is the most-used instrument. The aim of this study is to validate the Spanish version of the new developed State Self-Compassion Scale-Long (SSCS-L).
Methods:
Students of the first year of the Nursing Degree were surveyed online. Together with the SSCS-L, their levels of positive and negative affect was reported. Analyses included descriptive statistics, competitive confirmatory factor analysis, evidence on criterion-related validity and estimates of reliability.
Results:
The best fitting model for the SSCS-L was the one hypothesizing six-correlated factors of self-compassion: self-kindness, common humanity, mindfulness, self-judgement, isolation, and over-identification. Positive relations between the positive dimensions of self-compassion and positive affect were found, whereas there were negative relations between the positive poles of self-compassion and negative affect. Estimates of reliability were adequate, except for the dimension of over-identification.
Conclusions:
Self-compassion has become a key competency for nurses. The SSCS-L is an appropriate tool to allow an adequate assessment of self-compassion in experimental contexts.
Our paper addresses the so-called college mental health crisis and the adoption of the strategy of mindfulness-based interventions. We offer a critique of their underlying medical–therapeutic paradigm by engaging the notion of self-transcendence in Viktor Frankl’s Existential Analysis and Buddhism in dialogue. We argue that the current mindfulness movement has decontextualized and appropriated mindfulness from its Buddhist foundations in favor of a model that offers objectively verifiable biophysical and mental benefits. Self-transcendence, whether from the perspective of Buddhism or Frankl’s work, offers what we feel is an existentially viable path forward for college students, in lieu of the current paradigm promoted by those advocating use of these mindfulness-based interventions. We conclude by considering Existential and Buddhist notions of self-transcendence in dialogue, suggesting they offer an educational practice worthy of implementation.
Background: The increased complexity of the nursing care needs of patients and acuity in general wards present nursing care challenges for nurses. Self-led nurses are attentive, taking responsibility for activating the rapid response service when a patient is starting to deteriorate.
Objectives: The purpose of this article is to describe nurses’ experiences practising mindfulness during self-leadership in delivering a rapid response system (RRS) in a private hospital in Gauteng.
Method: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual design was followed. Homogenous purposive sampling was used and a total of eight focus groups were conducted. Focus groups durations were between 45 min and 60 min. The data analysis was carried out through open coding on Atlas.ti using the noticing things, collecting things and thinking about things (NCT) approach. An independent coder met with the researcher during a consensus meeting and finalised the analysis.
Results: The findings indicated an underlying theme of nurses being mindful in their self-leadership through the development of self-motivation and self-direction in the RRS. Three categories with six subcategories emerged from the data analysis, namely self-motivation in an RRS by the team, self-direction through role-modelling to peers and training.
Conclusion: Nurses practised mindfulness during self-leadership, utilising behavioural and natural reward approaches and constructive thought patterns. These findings could assist management with developing training programmes for nurses.
Transdiagnostic psychotherapeutic approaches are increasingly used in neurorehabilitation to address psychological distress. Animal-assistance is thought to increase efficacy. The present study evaluates a psychotherapeutic mindfulness- and self-compassion-based group intervention (MSCBI) with and without animal-assistance for patients with acquired brain injury. Patients (N = 31) were randomly assigned to the 6-week intervention with (n = 14) or without animal-assistance (n = 17). Primary outcome was psychological distress at post- and follow-up treatment, secondary outcomes were changes within-session of patients’ emotional states, adherence to treatment and attrition. Psychological distress significantly decreased in both groups from pre- to follow-up treatment with no difference between groups. Patients in the animal-assisted MSCBI group reported significantly higher increases in feeling secure, accepted, comforted, grateful, motivated and at ease during the sessions compared to patients in the MSCBI group without animal-assistance. Adherence to sessions was significantly higher in the animal-assisted MSCBI group. Attrition did not significantly differ between groups. Our results show that both MSCBIs with and without animal-assistance are feasible and effective in reducing psychological distress in patients with acquired brain injury. The significant changes within-sessions mainly in relationship-based emotional states and the higher treatment adherence suggest additional effects of animal-assistance. Animal-assistance might increase acceptability and patients’ commitment to psychotherapy.
هدفت الدراسة إلى التعرف على العلاقة بين معنى الحياة واليقظة العقلية لدى الطلاب المبصرين والمكفوفين، ومعرفة الفروق بينهم في كلٍ منها، ومدى إمكانية التنبؤ بمعنى الحياة من خلال اليقظة العقلية، استخدمت الدراسة المنهج الوصفي: الارتباطي والمقارن، كما استخدمت مقياسي: معنى الحياة واليقظة العقلية من إعداد الباحث، تضمنت عينة الدراسة (67) مبصرًا، و (67) كفيفًا، بمتوسط عمر (17.5) عامًا، وانحراف معياري (0.7)، وتوصلت إلى وجود ارتباط موجب دال إحصائيًا لدى كلٍ من المبصرين والمكفوفين بين درجاتهم على مقياسي: معنى الحياة واليقظة العقلية، فيما عدا بعد اليقظة العقلية الانفتاح العقلي، ووجود فروق دالة إحصائيًا بين متوسطات درجات المبصرين والمكفوفين على مقياسي: معنى الحياة لصالح المبصرين فيما عدا بعد هدف الحياة، واليقظة العقلية لصالح المبصرين فيما عدا بعد تنظيم الوعي لصالح المكفوفين. The study aimed to identify the relationship between the meaning of life and mindfulness with the Visualized and blind students, the knowledge of the differences between them in each of it, and the prediction at the meaning of life by mindfulness, used correlative descriptive method, and used the meaning of life and mindfulness scales, A sample involved (67) Visualized students, and (67) blind students, (M=17.5; SD=0.7) years. the results showed that there are a statistically significant positive correlation with both Visualized and blind students between their scores on the two scales: the meaning of life and mental alertness, except dimension of mental openness, and there are statistically significant differences between the average of the Visualized and blind students on the two scales: the meaning of life for the Visualized students, except dimension of life goal, and mindfulness for the Visualized students; except dimension of regulation of awareness for the blind students.
Both self-efficacy and self-regulation have been connected to financial behaviors and financial outcomes of households; however, their associations have been studied independently. This study examined the association between general self-regulation (i.e., mindfulness practice, self-care behaviors, and conflict management) and financial management behavior, mediated by financial self-efficacy. Data was gathered from 693 individuals in couple relationships residing in the Southeastern United States of America who participated in a Healthy Marriage and Relationship Education training program. Analyses of data showed that general self-regulation and financial self-efficacy were positively associated with financial management behaviors and that general self-regulation was indirectly associated with financial management behaviors through financial self-efficacy. Implications of this study suggest that by coupling financial education, counseling, and coaching interventions with broad-based self-regulation programming, such as mindfulness or relationship training, clients will realize more significant improvements in financial management behaviors.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.