Evaluation of the causal relationship model of mindfulness with anxiety and depression by mediating unintentional mind wandering

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Ph.D. student in educational psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

2 Associate professor of Department of Educational Psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

3 Professor of Department of Educational Psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

4 Assistant professor of Department of Educational Psychology, Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz, Ahvaz, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Past studies have found mindfulness to be associated with improved mental health. Anxiety and depression are the most common problems in the field of mental health. The present research aims to indicate that the unintentional mind wandering is a mechanism mediating the relationship of mindfulness with anxiety and depression.
Materials and Methods: In order to test the mediator model, 300 female students of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz-Iran in 2017 were selected by multistage random sampling method. So, in the first stage of sampling, 5 faculties (psychology and education, engineering, literature and humanities, basic sciences, economics and social sciences) were selected randomly from 12 faculties of this university. Then, among the undergraduate students in 23 different disciplines, 300 students were selected. They fulfilled the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), Depression Anxiety Stress Scale (DASS), short-form of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (SSTAI), and the Intentional/Unintentional Mind Wandering Scale. Collected data were analyzed by SPSS and AMOS and using structural equations modeling method. In order to earn the suitable model fitness indices, the item parceling method was used.
Results: Based on the values of some indices (for example, RMSEA= 0.07 and GFI= 0.95), model had a good fit. Also, the results showed that mindfulness has significant relationships with unintentional mind wandering, depression, and anxiety and unintentional mind wandering has significant relationships with anxiety and depression (P≤ 0.01). In addition, the indirect effects of mindfulness on anxiety and depression were also significant through unintentional mind wandering.
Conclusion: Unintentional mind wandering is a factor that facilitating the anxiety and depression and mindfulness can affect the anxiety and depression with reducing the unintentional unrelated thoughts.

Keywords

References

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Journal of Fundamentals of Mental Health
Volume 21, Issue 4
July and August 2019
Pages 241-248

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