Assessment of Response to Mindfulness Meditation: Meditation Breath Attention Scores in Association with Subjective Measures of State and Trait Mindfulness and Difficulty Letting Go of Depressive Cognition

Abstract

How best to operationalize the mindfulness construct requires further research. In two related studies, we examined undergraduates' self-reported ability to maintain their attention toward the process of their breathing during 10-and 15-min practices of mindful breath meditation, referred to as "Meditation Breath Attention Scores" (MBAS). MBAS were positively correlated with self-reported interest in and awareness of the breath during both 10-and 15-min meditations and negatively correlated with self-reported difficulties maintaining attention toward breathing (i.e., mind wandering) during the 15-min meditation. MBAS were not positively correlated with the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (TMS) measures of mindful "decentering" and "curiosity." In study 2 but not study 1, MBAS were positively correlated with the five-factor mindfulness trait "Acting with Awareness." Secondary analyses replicated an association between measures of trait mindfulness and trait difficulty letting go of depressive thoughts, although MBAS and the TMS measures were unrelated with trait difficulty letting go of depressive thoughts. Future research directions are discussed.

Controlling the Temporal Structure of Brain Oscillations by Focused Attention Meditation

“…This observation shows a lasting impact of regular practice on normal waking state consciousness and brain dynamics, even without engaging in meditation. This observation is adding to the cumulative evidence of lasting effects of meditation on daily life (Chan & Woollacott, 2007;Frewen, Lundberg, MacKinley, & Wrath, 2011). From a dynamic perspective, it is very intriguing that regular practice showed the dichotomy of increased LRTC during resting state, while at the same time enhancing the ability to create a state of reduced LRTC during FA meditation.…”

Mindfulness as an Alternative for Supporting University Student Mental Health: Cognitive-Emotional and Depressive Self-Criticism Measures

“…This finding is notable given the lack of research on the relationship between SC traits and MM benefits. Previous research has indicated that self-reported measures of breathing awareness during meditation and trait mindfulness (comprised of stable personality variables linked to mindfulness) were associated with the capacity to neutralize depressive cognitions (Frewen, Lundberg, MacKinley, & Wrath, 2011). The current finding between SC and the POMS Depression subscale…”

Impact of Dementia on Mindful Attention: a Cross-Sectional Comparison of People with Dementia and Those Without

“…The medium effect size (r = 0.313) suggests that MBAS performance is also affected by or at least associated with other factors, and is insufficient strongly to support the construct validity of the MBAS task as previous papers have done (Frewen et al 2011;Lai et al 2015).…”

“…The number of times each participant indicates that they were focused on the breath is recorded (with a maximum possible score of five). Studies have demonstrated convergent validity (Frewen et al 2008;Liu et al 2013), construct validity (Frewen et al 2011;Lai et al 2015) and test-retest reliability (Frewen et al 2014).…”