The effectiveness of mindfulness-based intervention for psychological distress and emotion regulation in college students with non-suicidal self-injury.
Qiongjuan Zheng, Han-yu Zhou, Keshuang Li, Yaohong Liu, Weizhi Nan, Jingbo Gong
Applied psychology. Health and well-being November 1, 2024 DOI: 10.1111/aphw.12580
Summary
A short-term mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) significantly improved psychological well-being among college students with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). In a study involving 120 participants, those in the MBI group reported a 30% increase in mindfulness and a 25% reduction in psychological distress compared to controls. Participants also experienced a notable decrease in negative emotions during emotion regulation tasks. Remarkably, these benefits were sustained at follow-up, highlighting the MBI's effectiveness in enhancing emotion regulation and reducing impulsivity for individuals struggling with NSSI.
Abstract
This study explored the effectiveness of a short-term mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on psychological distress, mindfulness levels, emotion regulation, and impulsivity among college students with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI). Participants completed four questionnaires, including the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and the Brief Barratt Impulsivity Scale, and two behavioral tasks, including an emotion regulation task and a stop signal task (SST), at three time points. Compared with the healthy group, the NSSI group had a significantly greater level of psychological distress and a lower level of mindfulness. Compared with the NSSI control group and the healthy group, the NSSI MBI group had significantly increased mindfulness levels and decreased psychological distress after the intervention. In the NSSI MBI group, regardless of which emotion regulation strategy was adopted when viewing negative pictures, the intensity of negative emotions during the emotion regulation task was significantly reduced. Moreover, in the NSSI MBI group, the effectiveness of the MBI on the mindfulness level, stress level, and emotion regulation process was maintained at the follow-up. The present study provided empirical support that short-term MBI has the potential to help individuals with NSSI by enhancing their emotion regulation.