Search results for "applied psychology"

Compassion-based meditation quality practice and its impact on the positive attitudes toward others

2021

Objectives: The authors report on the initial development and validation of the Compassion Practice Quality Scale (CPQS), a measure to assess the quality of compassion-based meditation (CBM). It is conceptualized and operationalized via two factors measuring mental imagery and somatic perception/response. Methods: The total sample was composed of 205 university students who underwent a CBM and completed pre-test/post-test assessment of compassion and related constructs. Results from a series of preliminary psychometric analyses of the CPQS were examined, including factor analysis, internal consistency, and convergent/discriminant validity. Results: The data supported a 12-item and 10-item (…

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Version of the Nonattachment Scale (NAS) and Its Relationship with Mindfulness, Decentering, and Mental Health

2016

Abstract Nonattachment is a Buddhism-rooted construct, which can be defined as the relative absence of fixation on ideas, images, or sensory objects, as well as an absence of internal pressure to get, hold, avoid, or change circumstances or experiences. The present study was aimed at exploring the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the Nonattachment Scale (NAS) and at delimitating the relationship between the NAS and measures of mindfulness, decentering, and negative emotional symptoms. Pooling the NAS data from Spanish meditators (n = 335) and nonmeditators (n = 270), we performed an exploratory factor analysis and then estimated the fit of two competing models (one-factor m…

Which Facets of Mindfulness Protect Individuals from the Negative Experiences of Obsessive Intrusive Thoughts?

2018

Obsessive intrusive thoughts (OITs) are experienced by the majority of the general population, and in their more extreme forms are characteristic of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). These cognitions are said to exist on a continuum that includes differences in their frequency and associated distress. The key factors that contribute to an increased frequency and distress are how the individual appraises and responds to the OIT. Facets of mindfulness, such as nonjudgment and nonreactivity, offer an alternative approach to OITs than the negative appraisals and commonly utilised control strategies that often contribute to distress. Clarifying the role of facets of mindfulness in relation to…

Meditation practice is associated with a values-oriented life: the mediating role of decentering and mindfulness

2017

Clarification of personal values and meditation practice has been associated in most meditation traditions and in academic texts. Both values-related behavior and meditation practice increases well-being, but their relationship has not been well studied. It has been suggested that values, together with self-regulation, psychological flexibility, and exposure, are key mechanisms of action in mindfulness. The aims of this study were to explore the association between meditation and values and to examine the processes involved in this relation. A sample of 235 meditation-na < ve participants and 274 subjects with varying levels of experience in meditation practice completed an online assessmen…

The relationship of number of sexual partners with personality traits, age, gender and sexual identification

2020

Although personality has been tested as a predictor of sexual behaviours, little is known about the contribution of personality to the number of sexual partners. This study aimed to examine the mod...

The Appearance Intrusions Questionnaire

2019

Abstract. This study aims to examine whether Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) related preoccupations might consist of unwanted intrusive cognitions, and if so, their degree of universality, its dimensionality from normality to BDD psychopathology, and their associations with symptom measures. The Appearance Intrusions Questionnaire (AIQ) was designed to assess intrusive thoughts related to appearance defects (AITs). A sample of 410 undergraduate university students completed a former 54-item version of the AIQ. Principal Components Analyses (PCA) and Parallel Analysis yielded a five-factor structure and a reduction to 27 items. The 27-items AIQ was examined in a new sample of 583 non-clinica…

Improvements in Mindfulness Facets Mediate the Alleviation of Burnout Dimensions

2020

Abstract Objectives While interventions using mindfulness have been effective in treating burnout, the mechanisms of change need more research. This study investigated which of five mindfulness facets (observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging, and non-reacting) mediated the intervention effects on three burnout dimensions (exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy) during an 8-week mindfulness-, acceptance-, and value-based (MAV) intervention and a 10-month follow-up. Methods The participants were a heterogeneous sample of employees suffering from burnout (n = 202, 80% women, mean age = 47.5 years). Latent change score modeling was conducted for each combinati…

Like clouds in a windy sky : mindfulness training reduces negative affect reactivity in daily life in a randomized controlled trial

2020

While prior research has found mindfulness to be linked with emotional responses to events, less is known about this effect in a non-clinical sample. Even less is known regarding the mechanisms of the underlying processes: It is unclear whether participants who exhibit increased acceptance show decreased emotional reactivity (i.e., lower affective responses towards events overall) or a speedier emotional recovery (i.e., subsequent decrease in negative affect) due to adopting an accepting stance. To address these questions, we re-analysed two Ambulatory Assessment data sets. The first (NStudy1 = 125) was a 6-week randomized controlled trial (including a 40-day ambulatory assessment); the sec…

2020

Mediators of change in online acceptance and commitment therapy for psychological symptoms of parents of children with chronic conditions : An investigation of change processes

Developmental trajectories of experiential avoidance and depressive symptoms and association to health behaviors among adolescents during brief guide…

2021

Abstract While many children and adolescents experience psychological problems with up to 20 percent estimated to develop a mental health problem, only few receive treatment. Online interventions can help respond to the need of support among young people without requiring considerable resources. However, relatively few studies have examined the efficacy of online interventions for youth and more research is needed to understand individual differences in benefiting from these interventions. The current study sought to examine different developmental trajectories of experiential avoidance and depressive symptoms and their association to health behaviors measured at baseline during a brief gui…