The association between state attachment security and state Mindfulness

Does the association between mindful parenting and adolescents' dispositional mindfulness depend on the levels of anxiety and depression symptomatology in mothers?

The current study aims to investigate whether mindful parenting and adolescents' dispositional mindfulness differ as a function of maternal anxiety and depressive symptoms and to explore the moderating role of these symptoms on the relationship between mindful parenting and adolescents' dispositional mindfulness. A sample of 685 mother-adolescent dyads was collected in Portuguese public schools. Mothers completed self-reported measures of mindful parenting and symptoms of anxiety and depression, and adolescents (aged 10-18 years) completed a measure of dispositional mindfulness. Mothers with clinically significant symptomatology levels reported lower levels of mindful parenting than those with normal symptomatology. Almost all mindful parenting dimensions were significantly associated with adolescents' mindfulness, but only under lower or moderate levels of anxiety and depression symptomatology. These findings suggest that parental factors play a key role in adolescents' mindfulness skills and underline the detrimental effect of maternal psychopathology on mindful parenting and on its link with adolescents' mindfulness.

Brief mindfulness training for negative affectivity: A systematic review and meta-analysis

OBJECTIVE

Over the last 10 years, there has been a dramatic increase in published randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of brief mindfulness training (from single-session inductions to multisession interventions lasting up to 2 weeks), with some preliminary indications that these training programs may improve mental health outcomes, such as negative affectivity. This meta-analysis aimed to evaluate whether brief mindfulness training reliably reduces negative affectivity.

METHOD

PubMed, PsycINFO, and the Mindfulness Research Monthly Newsletter were systematically searched for brief mindfulness intervention RCTs assessing negative affectivity outcomes (e.g., depression, rumination, anxiety, stress). Sixty-five RCTs, including 5,489 participants predominantly without experience in meditation (64.64% female, mean age = 24.62), qualified for the meta-analytic review.

RESULTS

The meta-analysis revealed a small but significant effect of brief mindfulness training on reducing negative affectivity compared to control programs (g = .21, p < .001). The overall effect size was significantly moderated by participant characteristics: community samples (g = .41, p < .001) produced larger training effects compared to student samples (g = .14, p = .001; Qbetween p = .03). No significant effect size differences were found between clinical and nonclinical samples. However, when accounting for publication bias, the overall effect size of brief mindfulness training programs on negative affectivity was significantly reduced (g = .04).

CONCLUSIONS

Brief mindfulness training programs are increasingly popular approaches for reducing negative affectivity. This meta-analysis indicates that brief mindfulness training modestly reduces negative affectivity. Quantitative analyses indicated the presence of publication bias (i.e., unpublished null effect studies), highlighting the need to continue rigorous evaluation of brief mindfulness interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record

Bridging the Sciences of Mindfulness and Romantic Relationships

Research on mindfulness, defined as paying conscious and non-judgmental attention to present-moment experiences, has increased rapidly in the past decade but has focused almost entirely on the benefits of mindfulness for individual well-being. This article considers the role of mindfulness in romantic relationships. Although strong claims have been made about the potentially powerful role of mindfulness in creating better relationships, it is less clear whether, when, and how this may occur. This article integrates the literatures on mindfulness and romantic relationship science, and sketches a theory-driven model and future research agenda to test possible pathways of when and how mindfulness may affect romantic relationship functioning. We review some initial direct and indirect evidence relevant to the proposed model. Finally, we discuss the implications of how studying mindfulness may further our understanding of romantic relationship (dys)functioning, and how mindfulness may be a promising and effective tool in couple interventions.