Longitudinal increases in mindfulness practice quality are associated with changes in psychological outcomes and not vice versa - a brief report.

Improvements in the quality of mindfulness meditation practice over time are linked to reductions in anxiety and stress and increases in mindfulness, but not the reverse. Data from a randomized controlled trial with 48 novice practitioners from the general population who used low-dose mindfulness practices suggests that practice quality drives better psychological outcomes, supporting its importance even in low-dose and self-help programs.

Study at a glance

Abstract

With research on mindfulness increasing exponentially, it is important to clarify factors that may influence the success of this approach. We examined the construct of mindfulness meditation practice quality using longitudinal data drawn from a randomized controlled trial testing low-dose mindfulness practices with novice mindfulness practitioners from the general population (N = 48). Results suggest that increases in mindfulness practice quality over time are associated with improvements in psychological outcomes (anxiety, stress, and mindfulness), but not vice versa. Findings join previous research supporting the notion that mindfulness practice quality is an important element of mindfulness training in higher-dose programs as well as low-dose and self-help mindfulness programs and practices. Therefore, this research contributes to finding further support of the importance of mindfulness practice quality as a cause of improvement in psychological distress. This needs to be explored further in future research.