Mindfulness, spirituality, and health-related symptoms

Objective:

The study aimed to investigate whether participation in a mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) program is associated with increases in mindfulness and spirituality, and if these changes are related to improvements in medical and psychological symptoms.

Methods:

Participants:

The research involved 44 individuals enrolled in the MBSR program at the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

Assessment Measures:

• Mindfulness:

Evaluated with both trait and state measures using the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (for trait mindfulness) and the Toronto Mindfulness Scale (for state mindfulness).

• Spirituality:

Assessed using the Functional Assessment of Chronic Illness Therapy–Spiritual Well-Being Scale.

• Health-Related Outcomes:

Psychological distress and reported medical symptoms were measured.

Study Design:
Participants were assessed both before (preprogram) and after (postprogram) the MBSR intervention. Additionally, they maintained daily logs of their home mindfulness practice.

Analysis:
The researchers calculated mean changes in the various scores and explored the relationships among mindfulness, spirituality, psychological distress, and medical symptoms using mixed-model linear regression.

Key Findings:

Improvements Observed:
Significant improvements were found in:

• Trait and state mindfulness
• Spirituality
• Psychological distress levels
• Reported medical symptoms

Interrelationships Between Variables:

• Increases in both state and trait mindfulness were significantly associated with increases in spirituality.
• When examining psychological distress and medical symptoms, improvements were primarily linked with changes in trait mindfulness and spirituality.
• Although both facets of mindfulness (state and trait) contributed to increases in spirituality, only trait mindfulness (and spirituality) showed a significant independent association with reductions in psychological and medical symptoms.

Home Practice:
The study did not find any significant association between the duration or frequency of home mindfulness practice and the improvements in the key outcomes.

Conclusions:

Participation in the MBSR program is linked with enhanced mindfulness and spirituality, which, in turn, are associated with reductions in psychological distress and improvements in medical symptoms. The findings suggest that the development of trait mindfulness and spirituality may be particularly important for achieving these health-related benefits, independent of the amount of home mindfulness practice.

Source:
Carmody, J., Reed, G., Kristeller, J., & Merriam, P. (2008). Mindfulness, spirituality, and health-related symptoms. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 65(2), 195-202. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18374738/