Facing the Dreaded: Does Mindfulness Facilitate Coping with Distressing Experiences? A Moderator Analysis

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Claudia Bergomi - , University of Bern (Author)
  • Gunnar Ströhle - , Celenus Psychosomatic Clinic Freiburg (Author)
  • Johannes Michalak - , University of Hildesheim (Author)
  • Friedrich Funke - , Chair of Education/Quantitative Research Methods, Friedrich Schiller University Jena (Author)
  • Matthias Berking - , University of Marburg (Author)

Abstract

Increasing evidence shows that mindfulness is positively related to mental health; however, the nature of this relationship is not fully understood. The current study used structural equation modeling to investigate the hypothesis that mindfulness moderates the association between the occurrence of unavoidable distressing experiences (UDE) and mental health. Participants from a community sample (N = 376) completed the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Inventory of Approach and Avoidance Motivation, and the Incongruence Scale. Results indicated that mindfulness moderated the association between unavoidable distressing events and psychopathological symptoms/negative affect. Thus, mindfulness may contribute to enhance the ability to cope with UDE and thus mitigate the detrimental effects of these experiences on mental health.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)21-30
Number of pages10
JournalCognitive Behaviour Therapy
Volume42
Issue number1
Publication statusPublished - Mar 2013
Peer-reviewedYes

External IDs

PubMed 22992187
ORCID /0000-0003-3731-9798/work/142249631

Keywords

Sustainable Development Goals

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Keywords

  • avoidance, distressing experiences, mental health, mindfulness, moderation

Library keywords