Cultivating mindfulness: effects on well-being.

Full Abstract

There has been great interest in determining if mindfulness can be cultivated and if this cultivation leads to well-being. The current study offers preliminary evidence that at least one aspect of mindfulness, measured by the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS; K. W. Brown & R. M. Ryan, 2003), can be cultivated and does mediate positive outcomes. Further, adherence to the practices taught during the meditation-based interventions predicted positive outcomes. College undergraduates were randomly allocated between training in two distinct meditation-based interventions, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR; J. Kabat-Zinn, 1990; n=15) and E. Easwaran's (1978/1991) Eight Point Program (EPP; n=14), or a waitlist control (n=15). Pretest, posttest, and 8-week follow-up data were gathered on self-report outcome measures. Compared to controls, participants in both treatment groups (n=29) demonstrated increases in mindfulness at 8-week follow-up. Further, increases in mindfulness mediated reductions in perceived stress and rumination. These results suggest that distinct meditation-based practices can increase mindfulness as measured by the MAAS, which may partly mediate benefits. Implications and future directions are discussed. Copyright 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Author information

Author/s: Shapiro, Shauna L (SL); Oman, Doug (D); Thoresen, Carl E (CE); Plante, Thomas G (TG); Flinders, Tim (T);

Affiliation: Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA 95053, USA. slshapiro(-atsign-)scu.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Comparative Study; Journal Article; Randomized Controlled Trial; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: Journal of clinical psychology (J Clin Psychol), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Jul; vol 64 (issue 7) : pp 840-62

Dates: Created 2008/06/11; Completed 2008/08/28;

PMID: 18484600, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 2/18/2009, IMS Date: )

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