Abstract
Objectives
In recent years, the number of studies on the relationship between dispositional mindfulness (DM) facets and depression and anxiety symptoms has increased notably. The objective of this meta-analysis was to identify the longitudinal predictive associations from DM facets to depression and anxiety symptoms in both adult and adolescent samples.
Methods
Studies were eligible if they measured anxiety or depressive symptoms at least two times and DM during the first measurement. This meta-analysis seeks to clarify the proposed relationships, applying a Two-Stage Structural Equation Modeling method to data collected from adult and adolescent studies. In total, 34 studies were included.
Results
The results indicated that, in adult samples, the facets of Acting with Awareness, Non-Judging, Describing, and Non-Reacting covaried significantly with depression and anxiety symptoms at time one, but only Acting with Awareness and Non-Reacting facets predicted a decrease of symptoms over time. Due to the scarcity of studies using childhood and adolescent samples, only the role of Acting with Awareness predicting depression was evaluated, and the results indicated that this facet predicts a decrease in depression over time among adolescents.
Conclusions
These results provide insight into the longitudinal relationships between DM facets and depression and anxiety symptoms and suggest the importance of focusing attention on these facets in mindfulness interventions.
Trial Registration
The project was preregistered at the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/ye4af).
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Data Availability
All data are available at the Open Science Framework (https://osf.io/afgrj/https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/AFGRJ).
References
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This research was supported by a grant from the Basque Country (Ref. IT982-16 and Ref. PI_2016_1_0023).
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A.P. collaborated with the design of the study, analyzed the data, wrote part of the paper, prepared the tables, and conducted literature search. J.G. developed the theoretical framework, wrote part of the paper, prepared the tables, and revised the references. E.R. collaborated with the design of the study and conducted literature search. I.O. collaborated with the design of the study and contributed to the final version of the manuscript. L.F. collaborated with the design of the study and revised the references. L.O. contributed to the development of the theoretical framework. N.C. contributed to the final version of the manuscript, contributed to the development of the theoretical framework, and reviewed the tables. I.I. collaborated with the design of the study and verified the analytical methods. E.C. collaborated with the design of the study, supervised the project, and conceived the original idea. All the authors except I.I. collaborated in the selection process of the articles. All authors discussed the results and approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
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Prieto-Fidalgo, Á., Gómez-Odriozola, J., Royuela-Colomer, E. et al. Predictive Associations of Dispositional Mindfulness Facets with Anxiety and Depression: a Meta-analytic Structural Equation Modeling Approach. Mindfulness 13, 37–53 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01756-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01756-9