ArticlePublisher preview available

Does a mindfulness-based intervention strengthen mindfulness stress buffering effects in adolescence? A preliminary investigation

Authors:
Rachel Lucas-Thompson at Colorado State University
Rachel Lucas-Thompson
Mark A Prince at University of Southern California
Mark A Prince
Melanie S. Adams
Melanie S. Adams
Melanie S. Adams
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
Reagan Miller-Chagnon at Colorado State University
Reagan Miller-Chagnon
Show all 7 authorsHide
Read publisher preview
Download citation
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

Abstract and Figures

Past research on benefits of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) has focused on differences in levels of trait mindfulness and/or mental health; we provided a preliminary test of the hypothesis that, for adolescents, an MBI enhances the function of mindfulness as a stress buffer. For mindfulness to buffer stress, levels of mindfulness need to stay consistently high during stressors. Twenty adolescents (12-18yrs) participated in an MBI and completed daily diaries across six weeks of the program on interparental conflict, mindful attention, self-compassion, depressive symptoms and psychological distress. Multilevel and heterogeneous mixed-effects location-scale models as well as multilevel mediation and moderation indicated that, within person, the effects of the stressor (interparental conflict) on mindfulness varied between the first half (before receiving instruction about remaining mindful during stress) and the second half of the MBI (after receiving such instruction): greater interparental conflict was associated with lower levels and consistency of mindfulness in the first half, but was not associated with levels or consistency of mindfulness in the second half. Also, within person, mindfulness appeared to mediate rather than buffer effects of conflict on daily mental health in the first half of the program, but in the second half, mindfulness was a significant buffer of the link between conflict and mental health. Results provided preliminary support that an MBI may change the function of mindfulness as a stress buffer for adolescents, allowing them to be able to remain consistently mindful under stress and therefore experience the stress-buffering effects of mindfulness.
Figures - available from: Current Psychology
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
A preview of this full-text is provided by Springer Nature.
Learn more
Content available from Current Psychology
This content is subject to copyright. Terms and conditions apply.
Vol:.(1234567890)
Current Psychology (2024) 43:3440–3454
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-04520-5
1 3
Does amindfulness‑based intervention strengthen mindfulness stress
buffering effects inadolescence? Apreliminary investigation
RachelG.Lucas‑Thompson1 · MarkA.Prince2· MelanieS.Adams1· ReaganL.Miller1· MeganJ.Moran1·
StephanieR.Rayburn1· NatashaS.Seiter1
Accepted: 9 March 2023 / Published online: 30 March 2023
© The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature 2023
Abstract
Past research on benefits of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) has focused on differences in levels of trait mindfulness
and/or mental health; we provided a preliminary test of the hypothesis that, for adolescents, an MBI enhances the function
of mindfulness as a stress buffer. For mindfulness to buffer stress, levels of mindfulness need to stay consistently high dur-
ing stressors. Twenty adolescents (12-18yrs) participated in an MBI and completed daily diaries across six weeks of the
program on interparental conflict, mindful attention, self-compassion, depressive symptoms and psychological distress.
Multilevel and heterogeneous mixed-effects location-scale models as well as multilevel mediation and moderation indicated
that, within person, the effects of the stressor (interparental conflict) on mindfulness varied between the first half (before
receiving instruction about remaining mindful during stress) and the second half of the MBI (after receiving such instruc-
tion): greater interparental conflict was associated with lower levels and consistency of mindfulness in the first half, but was
not associated with levels or consistency of mindfulness in the second half. Also, within person, mindfulness appeared to
mediate rather than buffer effects of conflict on daily mental health in the first half of the program, but in the second half,
mindfulness was a significant buffer of the link between conflict and mental health. Results provided preliminary support
that an MBI may change the function of mindfulness as a stress buffer for adolescents, allowing them to be able to remain
consistently mindful under stress and therefore experience the stress-buffering effects of mindfulness.
Keywords Mindfulness stress buffering· Adolescence· Intensive repeated measurements· Mindfulness-based intervention
Introduction
According to the mindfulness stress buffering hypothesis, ben-
efits of greater trait mindfulness (i.e., present-focused and non-
judgmental attention) are evident because more-mindful indi-
viduals have more adaptive cognitive and biological responses
to stress, so that they are buffered from the negative effects
of stressful experiences (Creswell & Lindsay, 2014). Indeed,
mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are effective for
improving adolescent mental health and well-being (Dunning
etal., 2019), but tests of the benefits of MBIs have focused on
differences in levels of trait mindfulness and mental health
before and after an MBI, or between experimental conditions.
The mindfulness stress buffering hypothesis highlights the
importance of functional, momentary changes in mindfulness
that may occur as a result of participation in an MBI, during
which individuals receive explicit training and practice related
to using mindfulness during stressful periods of daily life (Cul-
len, 2011). After an MBI, regardless of whether mindfulness
levels are greater, individuals may be able to draw upon mind-
fulness skills more effectively in the moment as a stress buffer.
Observational evidence indicates that it may be particularly
challenging for adolescents who have not received an MBI to
maintain high levels of mindfulness when under stress, so that
mindfulness does not act as a stress buffer; instead, findings
indicate that daily stressors reduce both levels and consist-
ency of mindful attention, which then increases psychological
distress (Lucas-Thompson etal.,2021a). As a result, explicit
training as part of an MBI may be necessary for adolescents to
remain mindful under stress, and, thus, for mindfulness to have
* Rachel G. Lucas-Thompson
lucas-thompson.rachel.graham@colostate.edu
1 Department ofHuman Development & Family Studies,
Colorado State University, 1570 Campus Delivery,
FortCollins, CO80523-1570, USA
2 Department ofPsychology, Colorado State University, 1876
Campus Delivery, FortCollins, CO80523-1876, USA
Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.
... Theoretically, MBIs' benefits are thought to occur by promoting mindfulness as a facilitator of more adaptive responding to stressful daily experiences, thereby buffering individuals from negative mental health outcomes in the face of stressors (Creswell & Lindsay, 2014). There is preliminary evidence that traditional, group-based MBIs may boost such mindfulness stress buffering effects for emerging adults (Lucas-Thompson et al., 2023a). Technological supplements to MBIs are new and relatively untested in adolescents. ...
... Meta-analyses of these investigations indicate that MBIs often increase mindfulness and improve mental health, with effects that are small to moderate in size (Zoogman et al., 2014). However, there are other strategies for evaluating the efficacy of MBIs, in particular, through the mechanistic lens of daily mindfulness stress buffering effects (Lucas-Thompson et al., 2023a). ...
... These weaker/less consistent buffering effects, particularly in studies that focus on intraindividual variability in stress and mindfulness, may be evident because adolescents who have not participated in an MBI are not able to remain consistently mindful under stress; therefore, daily mindfulness mediates rather than moderates the effects of stress on mental health (Lucas-Thompson et al., 2022). In contrast, after participating in L2B, there is preliminary evidence that intraindividual variability in mindfulness buffers the effects of stress on mental health in adolescents, such that on high-stress days when mindfulness remains relatively high, mental health concerns are not elevated (Lucas-Thompson et al., 2023a); this pattern of results suggests that an MBI might be important for mindfulness stress buffering effects in adolescents. Interestingly, though, this study also suggests that even after MBI there is still intraindividual variability in daily mindfulness, and on days that adolescents cannot remain mindful under stress, their mental health is not buffered from that stress. ...
Boosting effects of mindfulness-based intervention with a multi-modal adaptive supplement: a preliminary investigation
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2024
  • CURR PSYCHOL
Recently, scientists have advocated for the use of multi-modal adaptive supplements to mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to boost program efficacy. A theoretical mechanism underlying MBI benefits is that high mindfulness buffers against mental health problems in the face of stressors. We investigated whether a multi-modal supplement to an MBI boosts mindfulness stress buffering effects relative to a standard MBI and an active control using a pilot randomized controlled trial within an existing mentoring program, Campus Connections. Participants were 98 mentors and mentees randomized to mentoring alone, MBI with mentoring, or MBI with multi-modal supplement and mentoring. Participants completed daily diaries for 6 days at baseline and program end to assess daily stressors, mindfulness, and mental health symptoms. Analyses focused on within-person intraindividual variability. Results indicated that there was no evidence for mindfulness stress buffering for any condition at baseline. Those who received mentoring alone continued to show no evidence of mindfulness stress buffering at posttest. In contrast, at posttest those who received MBI with mentoring displayed some evidence for mindfulness stress buffering in that their mental health concerns were buffered from deleterious effects of stress only on days when they maintained higher than average mindfulness. At posttest, participants who received MBI with the multi-modal supplement and mentoring displayed stronger mindfulness stress buffering effects, as daily stress was no longer related to their mental health symptoms. This study provides initial support that a multi-modal supplement to an MBI can boost mindfulness stress buffering effects.
View
... At the midintervention assessment, adolescents had only received ∼2 hr of mindfulness training in the context of the mentoring program. This explanation is in line with research that found a potential dose-response relationship of a 6-week adolescent MBI and mindfulness (Lucas-Thompson et al., 2023). Twelve adolescents who received an MBI experienced stronger mindfulness stress buffering effects at the daily level during the second half of the MBI as opposed to at the midway point (Lucas-Thompson et al., 2023). ...
... This explanation is in line with research that found a potential dose-response relationship of a 6-week adolescent MBI and mindfulness (Lucas-Thompson et al., 2023). Twelve adolescents who received an MBI experienced stronger mindfulness stress buffering effects at the daily level during the second half of the MBI as opposed to at the midway point (Lucas-Thompson et al., 2023). Another aspect that merits consideration is that, given the scaffolded nature of the L2B program (Broderick, 2013), adolescents did not receive explicit training in practicing mindfulness and effective emotion regulation during moments of stress until L2B Session 6 (i.e., Week 7 of the mentoring program). ...
The Benefits of Mindfulness Training for Momentary Mindfulness and Emotion Regulation: A Randomized Controlled Trial for Adolescents Exposed to Chronic Stressors
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2024
Objective: The goal of this study was to test if a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) compared to an active control ameliorates the impacts of life stressors on momentary mindfulness and emotion regulation difficulties among adolescents exposed to chronic stressors. Method: Adolescents exposed to chronic stressors (N = 81, Mage = 13.75 years; 56% boys; 24% Hispanic/Latino, 57% White) were randomized to receive MBI within the context of a community-based mentoring program (MBI + mentoring) or mentoring-alone. Participants completed ecological momentary assessments (EMAs) three times each day for 7 days at three intervals/bursts (preintervention, midintervention, and postintervention), contributing to a total of 3,178 EMA reports. EMA assessed momentary exposure to life stressors, mindfulness (vs. mindlessness), and emotion regulation difficulties. Results: Linear mixed-effects models revealed that the interaction between intervention arm (MBI + mentoring vs. mentoring-alone) and burst was significantly associated with the random slopes of life stressor exposure predicting mindful attention (b = −.05, SE = .01, p < .001), mindful nonjudgment (b = −.03, SE = .01, p < .001), and emotion regulation difficulties (b = −.04, SE = .01, p < .001). Estimated marginal means revealed that MBI + mentoring, compared to mentoring-alone, produced small but significant attenuation in the association of life stressors with mindful attention, mindful nonjudgment, and emotion regulation difficulties at postintervention. Conclusion: Mindfulness training may buffer adolescents exposed to chronic stressors against the negative impacts of life stressors on mindfulness and emotion regulation in daily life. Going forward, it will be important to investigate these relationships in the context of mental/physical health outcomes and to include longer periods of follow-up to determine the sustainable benefits of MBI for adolescent health.
View
... The mindfulness stress buffering hypothesis [48] proposes that mindfulness training can reduce perceptions of stress and in turn reduce the body's heightened response to stress. Tests of this hypothesis have been promising [49,50]. Mindfulness can serve as an effective buffer against stressors both proximal, such as coping with substance use cravings [51] or mental fatigue from multitasking [52], and distal, by reducing perceptions of and reactions to stress over time [48]. ...
Mindfulness Intervention Improves Coping and Perceptions of Children’s Behavior among Families with Elevated Risk
Article
Full-text available
Mindfulness-informed interventions (MIIs) are increasingly common but have not been extensively studied among families with elevated levels of risk (e.g., those involved in child protective services and/or receiving financial assistance). These families often experience high rates of stressors that can impact coping strategies, interpersonal dynamics, and relationships. Given that mindfulness has been shown to promote health and wellbeing, this study used a sample from two pilot randomized controlled trials to test the extent to which a mindfulness-informed intervention improved coping strategies and perceptions of children’s behavior among 53 families with elevated risk. A principal components analysis with a direct oblimin rotation revealed that cognitive–emotion coping strategies could be characterized by three factors: positive adaptation, negative adaptation, and positive refocusing. Intention-to-treat analysis indicated significant group by time differences, with intervention participants demonstrating improvements in positive refocusing coping, positive adaptation coping, and perceptions of children’s behavior problems compared to participants in the waitlist control group. No significant differences were found for negative adaptation coping strategies. Findings provide preliminary support for the benefits of mindfulness training in a sample generally underrepresented in the mindfulness intervention literature.
View
Moving 2 Mindful (M2M) study protocol: Testing a mindfulness group plus ecological momentary intervention to decrease stress and anxiety in adolescents from high-conflict homes with a mixed-method longitudinal design
Article
Full-text available
  • Nov 2019
Introduction Interparental conflict exposure places adolescents at risk for problems with stress and anxiety; existing prevention/intervention strategies focus on reducing interparental conflict. Mindfulness-based programmes may be a promising treatment strategy for this population, but studies have not yet tested whether they are effective in this high-conflict context. In addition, evidence suggests that extensions to traditional treatments, such as delivering components in daily life that are tailored to moments of need, can increase treatment efficacy, particularly when combined with in-person treatments and particularly for adolescents. However, there are no such extensions to mindfulness interventions available. The Moving 2 Mindful study aims to (1) develop an ecological momentary intervention (EMI) supplement to Learning to BREATHE (L2B), an evidence-based mindfulness intervention for adolescents; (2) refine the EMI programme and determine the best delivery plan; (3) examine the feasibility and acceptability of L2B Plus (L2B plus the developed supplement) and (4) examine the potential for L2B Plus to reduce stress and anxiety for adolescents from high-conflict homes. Methods and analysis The Moving 2 Mindful study proposes a mixed-methods approach to developing and refining a multimethod adaptive supplement to L2B. Feasibility, acceptability and potential effectiveness will be tested in a sample of 38 families, who will be randomly assigned to receive L2B Plus or an active health and wellness control condition and followed until 3 months postintervention. A range of psychosocial and physiological factors will be assessed at multiple time points. This study is registered with clinicaltrials.gov (ID NCT03869749 ; pre-results). Ethics and dissemination The Institutional Review Board at Colorado State University has approved this study. Findings will be disseminated in scientific journals and conferences, whether they are positive, negative or inconclusive.
View
How Mindfulness Training Promotes Positive Emotions: Dismantling Acceptance Skills Training in Two Randomized Controlled Trials
Article
Full-text available
  • Dec 2018
Mindfulness meditation interventions—which train skills in monitoring present-moment experiences with a lens of acceptance—have shown promise for increasing positive emotions. Using a theory-based approach, we hypothesized that learning acceptance skills in mindfulness interventions helps people notice more positive experiences in daily life, and tested whether removing acceptance training from mindfulness interventions would eliminate intervention-related boosts in positive affect. In 2 randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of stressed community adults, mindfulness skills were dismantled into 2 structurally equivalent interventions: (a) training in both monitoring and acceptance (Monitor + Accept) and (b) training in monitoring only (Monitor Only) without acceptance training. Study 1 tested 8-week group-based Monitor + Accept and Monitor Only interventions compared with a no treatment control group. Study 2 tested 2-week smartphone-based Monitor + Accept and Monitor Only interventions compared with an active control training. In both studies, end-of-day and momentary positive affect and negative affect were measured in daily life for 3 days pre- and post-intervention using ambulatory assessments. As predicted, across 2 RCTs, Monitor + Accept training increased positive affect compared with both Monitor Only and control groups. In Study 1, this effect was observed in end-of-day positive affect. In Study 2, this effect was found in both end-of-day and momentary positive affect outcomes. In contrast, all active interventions in Studies 1 and 2 decreased negative affect. These studies provide the first experimental evidence that developing an orientation of acceptance toward present-moment experiences is a central mechanism of mindfulness interventions for boosting positive emotions in daily life.
View
Research Review: The effects of mindfulness‐based interventions on cognition and mental health in children and adolescents – a meta‐analysis of randomized controlled trials
Article
Full-text available
Background Mindfulness based interventions (MBIs) are an increasingly popular way of attempting to improve the behavioural, cognitive and mental health outcomes of children and adolescents, though there is a suggestion that enthusiasm has moved ahead of the evidence base. Most evaluations of MBIs are either uncontrolled or nonrandomized trials. This meta‐analysis aims to establish the efficacy of MBIs for children and adolescents in studies that have adopted a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) design. Methods A systematic literature search of RCTs of MBIs was conducted up to October 2017. Thirty‐three independent studies including 3,666 children and adolescents were included in random effects meta‐analyses with outcome measures categorized into cognitive, behavioural and emotional factors. Separate random effects meta‐analyses were completed for the seventeen studies (n = 1,762) that used an RCT design with an active control condition. Results Across all RCTs we found significant positive effects of MBIs, relative to controls, for the outcome categories of Mindfulness, Executive Functioning, Attention, Depression, Anxiety/Stress and Negative Behaviours, with small effect sizes (Cohen's d), ranging from .16 to .30. However, when considering only those RCTs with active control groups, significant benefits of an MBI were restricted to the outcomes of Mindfulness (d = .42), Depression (d = .47) and Anxiety/Stress (d = .18) only. Conclusions This meta‐analysis reinforces the efficacy of using MBIs for improving the mental health and wellbeing of youth as assessed using the gold standard RCT methodology. Future RCT evaluations should incorporate scaled‐up definitive trial designs to further evaluate the robustness of MBIs in youth, with an embedded focus on mechanisms of action.
View
Statistical Power in Two-Level Models: A Tutorial Based on Monte Carlo Simulation
Article
Full-text available
  • Sep 2018
The estimation of power in two-level models used to analyze data that are hierarchically structured is particularly complex because the outcome contains variance at two levels that is regressed on predictors at two levels. Methods for the estimation of power in two-level models have been based on formulas and Monte Carlo simulation. We provide a hands-on tutorial illustrating how a priori and post hoc power analyses for the most frequently used two-level models are conducted. We describe how a population model for the power analysis can be specified by using standardized input parameters and how the power analysis is implemented in SIMR, a very flexible power estimation method based on Monte Carlo simulation. Finally, we provide case-sensitive rules of thumb for deriving sufficient sample sizes as well as minimum detectable effect sizes that yield a power ≥ .80 for the effects and input parameters most frequently analyzed by psychologists. For medium variance components, the results indicate that with lower level (L1) sample sizes up to 30 and higher level (L2) sample sizes up to 200, medium and large fixed effects can be detected. However, small L2 direct- or cross-level interaction effects cannot be detected with up to 200 clusters. The tutorial and guidelines should be of help to researchers dealing with multilevel study designs such as individuals clustered within groups or repeated measurements clustered within individuals.
View
View
Within-Person variations in mindfulness mediate effects of daily stressors on psychological distress in adolescence
Article
  • Jun 2021
Objective We tested two competing models linking daily stress, mindfulness, and psychological distress in adolescence: 1) whether daily mindfulness moderates the impact of daily stressors on psychological distress or 2) whether mindfulness mediates the relationship between greater daily stressors and psychological distress. Methods Every evening for a week, 138 adolescents completed ecological momentary assessments (EMAs). Daily diaries assessed negative events, work-school conflict, mindfulness, and perceived stress. Multilevel mediation and moderation were tested. Results Results indicated that there were meaningful variations in adolescent mindfulness from day-to-day, and supported mediation rather than moderation; the within-person association between stressors and psychological distress was mediated by mindfulness at the daily level. Conclusion It may be too challenging for adolescents to remain in a mindful state during stress to effectively use mindfulness as a buffer. Instead, daily stressors may indirectly impact psychological distress through decreasing mindfulness.
View
Does Dispositional Mindfulness Buffer the Links of Stressful Life Experiences with Adolescent Adjustment and Sleep?
Article
According to the mindfulness stress buffering hypothesis, mindfulness protects individuals from negative effects of stress. Prior investigations focused on the potential of mindfulness for reducing internalizing symptoms for adults in the context of general stress. We provided the first test of the mindfulness stress buffering hypothesis in the context of both adolescent general stress and interparental conflict in relation to internalizing and externalizing, as well as sleep. Participants were 150 adolescents who reported dispositional mindfulness, perceived stress, interparental conflict, internalizing, and externalizing. Participants wore an actigraph which objectively measured sleep for a week. Results suggested a stress buffering effect of mindfulness for the effects of general stress on internalizing symptoms at trend levels. Mindfulness stress buffering was not evident in relation to externalizing or sleep, or for the effect of interparental conflict appraisals on adjustment or sleep. Greater interparental conflict appraisals were associated with greater sleep onset latency, but mindfulness was not associated with objective measures of sleep quality or quantity. This study indicates that mindfulness may protect adolescents from the internalizing problems that often result from general stress, but that these stress buffering effects of mindfulness may not generalize to all types of stressors or adjustment/health outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
View
Mental Health and Illness of Children and Adolescents
Book
  • Jan 2020
This book presents state of the art knowledge aimed at understanding the clinical and socio-cultural factors that affect mental health of children and adolescents. It comprehensively covers the latest developments in the scientific study of mental health and illness of children and adolescents. The book is particularly important in the face of rapidly changing conditions globally and challenges such as migration, war, violence, and child labour that have an impact on the mental health of children.
View
Trends in Child and Adolescent Mental Health Prevalence, Outcomes, and Inequalities
Chapter
  • Aug 2020
Child and adolescent mental health problems are common and have serious impacts on wellbeing, relationships, education, and long-term health. A public health priority is to reduce the burden associated with mental health problems. This chapter considers changes in the population prevalence of child and adolescent mental health problems, in outcomes for children with mental health problems, and factors that might have contributed to mental health trends. Robust epidemiological evidence suggests some major changes in prevalence over time. Converging evidence points to increasing rates of adolescent emotional disorders. The contribution of socio-economic inequalities, lifestyle changes, social relationships, and family risk is considered. The chapter concludes by highlighting priorities for future research – there is currently limited evidence on child mental health trends in lower- and middle-income countries. There is also a need to develop and apply robust methodologies in time trends research.
View
View