Abstract
Objectives
Perseverative thought, an umbrella term encapsulating thoughts that are repetitive and difficult-to-control (e.g., worry; rumination), is a major feature and mechanism of anxiety and depression. Mindfulness-based interventions show promise for reducing perseverative thought and improving present-moment focus, but efforts to tailor or optimize these interventions remain rare. Given the multifaceted nature of mindfulness, a nuanced understanding of how each facet (awareness; nonjudgment; nonreactivity; describing) incrementally relates to different facets of perseverative thought may help to inform and expedite treatment development.
Methods
We tested hypothesized associations between dissociable facets of mindfulness and perseverative thought in three well-powered, independent samples (N = 289 undergraduate students; N = 286 crowdsourced participants; N = 277 community participants with elevated anxiety or depression).
Results
Consistent with predictions, and across all three samples, greater present-moment awareness, nonjudgment, and nonreactivity were all uniquely (incrementally) and inversely related to transdiagnostic perseverative thought. Nonreactivity was inversely and incrementally related to trait worry, beyond variance shared with transdiagnostic perseverative thought, rumination, and other mindfulness facets. Nonjudgment was similarly uniquely related to rumination. Unexpectedly, present-moment awareness predicted higher trait worry when other facets were controlled. Findings were robust to sensitivity analyses controlling for general distress.
Conclusions
The present study establishes and replicates in three independent samples a broad inverse association between present-moment awareness and transdiagnostic perseverative thought, and specific associations between nonreactivity with trait worry, and nonjudgment with trait rumination. Experimental research is needed to test hypothesized causal pathways to inform theory and development of transdiagnostic and personalized treatments.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Susan Kusmierski for her assistance with data collection.
Funding
LSH’s efforts were supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (K01MH116328).
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JST assisted with study conceptualization and data analysis, and was primarily responsible for drafting and revising the manuscript. NJO assisted with study conceptualization and drafting the manuscript. LSH was primarily responsible for study conceptualization and data analysis, and assisted with drafting and revising the manuscript.
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The present study was approved by the University of Pittsburgh Institutional Review Board and has been conducted in keeping with the ethical standards of the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its subsequent amendments.
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Thompson, J.S., Jamal-Orozco, N. & Hallion, L.S. Dissociable Associations of Facets of Mindfulness with Worry, Rumination, and Transdiagnostic Perseverative Thought. Mindfulness 13, 80–91 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01747-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01747-w