Pursuing undergraduate medical training can be very stressful and academically challenging experience. A 5-week mindfulness-based stress management (MBSM/Mindful-Gym) program was developed to help ...medical students cope with stress. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention in reducing stress among students in a medical school in Malaysia. Seventy-five medical students participated in the program. They were stratified according to years of studies and randomly allocated to intervention (
N
= 37) and control groups (
N
= 38). The following outcome variables were measured at pre- and post-intervention: mindfulness (with Mindful Awareness Attention Scale); perceived stress (with Perceived Stress Scale); mental distress (with General Health Questionnaire), and self-efficacy (with General Self-efficacy Scale). Hierarchical multiple regressions were used to analyse the effect of group (intervention vs. control) on changes in the outcome variables. There were significant improvements at one week post-intervention in all outcome variables: mindfulness (β = 0.19, ΔR2 = 0.04,
p
= .040,
f
2
= 0.05), perceived stress (β = −0.26, ΔR2 = 0.07,
p
= .009,
f
2
= 0.10); mental distress (β = −0.28, ΔR2 = 0.10,
p
= .003,
f
2
= 0.15); and self-efficacy (β = 0.30, ΔR2 = 0.09,
p
< .001,
f
2
= 0.21). Six months after the intervention, those who had joined the program reported higher self-efficacy compared to those in the control group (β = 0.24, ΔR2 = 0.06,
p
= .020,
f
2
= 0.08); but there was no difference in other outcome measures. More than 90 % of the participants found the program applicable in helping patients and all reported that they would recommend it to others. This study indicates that the program is potentially an effective stress management program for medical students in Malaysia.
Objectives
Eating disorders are debilitating mental illnesses characterized by disturbances in eating behaviors and weight regulation. Risk factors associated with disordered eating behaviors include ...negative affect and body dissatisfaction. Whereas mindfulness-based interventions have been shown to be effective in treating selected eating disorders, few studies have investigated the effects of brief mindfulness training on core features of eating disorders. Using a laboratory experimental design, the present study aimed to investigate the effects of a brief mindfulness induction on negative mood, implicit and explicit body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating urges in a sample of female college students with elevated eating disorder symptoms.
Methods
Eighty-one students who met criteria for full or subthreshold diagnosis of anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, or binge eating disorder were recruited from a large Singaporean university and randomly assigned to either a brief mindful breathing exercise or a resting control condition, following a negative mood induction procedure.
Results
Analyses showed that the mindfulness induction resulted in significantly lower negative affect compared to the control condition,
p
= .001. There were trends for lower explicit body dissatisfaction and urges to engage in compensatory behaviors in the mindfulness condition versus the control condition. No effects on implicit body dissatisfaction or binge eating urges were observed.
Conclusions
Overall, the findings highlight changes in negative affect as a potential mechanism underlying the effects of mindfulness-based interventions in treating eating disorders.
Little research has examined ways in which mindfulness is associated with affect dynamics, referring to patterns of affect fluctuations in daily life. Using ecological momentary assessment (EMA), the ...present study examined the associations between trait mindfulness and several types of affect dynamics, namely affect variability, affect inertia, affect switch, and affect instability. Three hundred ninety undergraduate students from Singapore reported their current emotions and coping styles up to 19 times per day across 2 days. Results showed that trait mindfulness correlated negatively with variability, instability, and inertia of negative affect and positively with negative-to-positive affect switch. These relationships were independent of openness, habitual reappraisal, habitual suppression, depression, and self-esteem. Importantly, lower maladaptive coping was found to mediate these relationships. The study suggests that trait mindfulness independently promotes adaptive patterns of affective experiences in daily life by inhibiting maladaptive coping styles.
Abstract School teachers are susceptible to mental health issues due to the challenging responsibilities the teaching profession entails. While several interventions have demonstrated effectiveness ...in improving teachers' social emotional competencies and mental health outcomes, little work has examined the potential of dialectical behavior therapy–skills training (DBT‐ST) in improving teacher outcomes. This study aimed to assess the effects of a five‐session, Malay‐translated DBT‐ST on psychological symptoms (anxiety, depression, stress, burnout), social‐emotional competencies, DBT skills use, and dysfunctional coping in a sample of school teachers in East Malaysia. Fifty‐three participants were recruited and assigned into DBT‐ST or a control group, consisting of attending a mental health talk. Analyses showed that DBT‐ST participants reported greater decreases in student‐related burnout and dysfunctional coping, and greater increases in DBT skills use compared to the control group from pre‐ to post‐intervention. There were no between‐condition differences on changes in other mental health outcomes, though session attendance was linked positively to improvements in several outcomes in the DBT‐ST condition. Analyses of post‐intervention feedback indicated that brief DBT‐ST was deemed acceptable and feasible among the research participants. In conclusion, DBT‐ST holds promise as an intervention to lower student‐related burnout and facilitate adaptive coping among school teachers.
Practitioner Points Teachers undergoing dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) skills training showed greater decreases in student‐related burnout and dysfunctional coping, and greater increases in DBT skills use compared to teachers in the control condition. There were no between‐condition differences on changes in other mental health outcomes. Number of DBT skills training sessions attended was associated with decreases in depressive symptoms and personal burnout, and with increases in DBT skills use.
Purpose of Review
This review discusses cultural trends, challenges, and approaches to assessment and treatment of personality traits and disorders. Specific focus include current developments in the ...Asian, Italian, Iranian, and Australian societies, as well as the process of acculturation, following moves between cultures with the impact on healthy and disordered personality function.
Recent Findings
Each culture with its specific history, dimensions, values, and practices influences and gears the individual and family or group in unique ways that affect personality functioning. Similarly, each culture provides means of protection and assimilation as well as norms for acceptance and denunciations of specific behaviors and personality traits.
Summary
The diagnosis of personality disorders and their treatment need to take into consideration the individual in the context of the culture and society in which they live. Core personality problems, especially emotion dysregulation and interpersonal functioning are specifically influenced by cultural norms and context.
•Brief daily mindfulness practice increases trait mindfulness and self-compassion.•Relaxation practice improves emotion regulation in a high BPD trait sample.•Both practices do not differ in their ...effects on any of the outcome variables.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a psychological disorder characterized by dysregulation across multiple domains. While selected mindfulness-based interventions are effective in addressing symptoms of BPD, less is known regarding the effects of engaging in brief mindfulness practices on affective correlates of BPD. The present study investigated the effects of engaging in brief, daily mindfulness practice in a sample of young adults with elevated BPD symptoms. Ninety-two participants were recruited and randomly assigned to 2 weeks of daily mindfulness meditation or relaxation practice (active control), or to a no-practice control condition. Participants completed measures assessing depression, anxiety, stress, shame, difficulties with emotion regulation, trait mindfulness, and self-compassion before and after the practice period. Compared to the no-practice control condition, mindfulness practice resulted in significant improvements in trait mindfulness and self-compassion, whereas relaxation practice led to reductions in emotion regulation difficulties. No significant differences were found on any of the other outcomes between the mindfulness and relaxation conditions. The findings suggest that while both mindfulness and relaxation-based practices are effective in targeting selected transdiagnostic processes associated with BPD, more intensive interventions may be required for the practices to induce changes at the level of psychological symptoms.
Abstract
Aim/background
Even though dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has received substantial empirical support in treating patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD), fewer studies have ...evaluated whether a brief DBT skills group may be effective in improving clinical outcomes in this population. Further, less is known regarding the feasibility and outcomes of DBT beyond Euro-American contexts. This paper describes outcomes from a pilot study examining the feasibility, acceptability, and clinical outcomes following completion of a shortened, 14-week DBT skills group in a sample of Muslim-majority BPD patients in Malaysia.
Methods
Twenty patients were recruited from a public hospital and attended DBT skills groups in an outpatient clinic. Participants completed measures assessing psychological symptoms, self-harm behaviors, suicidal ideation, emotion regulation difficulties, self-compassion, and well-being pre- and post-intervention.
Results
There were significant reductions in depressive symptoms, stress, and emotion regulation difficulties, as well as increases in self-compassion and well-being from pre- to post-intervention. A trend was found for decreases in frequency and types of non-suicidal self-harm behaviors, suicidal ideation, and anxiety symptoms. Qualitative content analyses of participants’ feedback indicated that the vast majority of participants perceived a positive impact from the skills group, with mindfulness and distress tolerance being rated frequently as skills that were beneficial.
Conclusion
These preliminary findings suggest that DBT skills training is feasible and acceptable in a Muslim-majority, low resource clinical setting, and holds promise in improving clinical outcomes among BPD patients in Malaysia.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Linehan (1993)'s biosocial model posits that borderline personality disorder (BPD) symptoms develop as a result of a transactional relationship between pre-existing emotional vulnerability and an ...invalidating childhood environment. Little work, however, has investigated cultural factors that may influence the relationship between childhood invalidation and BPD symptoms. The present study investigated the association between parental invalidation and BPD symptoms, and the role of conformity and self-construal as potential moderators of this association.
Two hundred and ninety undergraduate students were recruited from a large university in Singapore and administered questionnaires measuring Asian values, self-construal, parental invalidation, and BPD symptomatology.
Multiple regression analysis demonstrated a significant positive association between BPD symptoms and maternal invalidation. Moderation analyses revealed a 3-way interaction, indicating that the maternal invalidation and BPD symptoms association varied by degree of conformity and self-construal. Among participants with interdependent self-construal, maternal invalidation was associated with BPD symptoms only at high conformity levels. No significant moderating effect was found among participants with independent self-construal.
Overall, the study found empirical support for aspects of Linehan's biosocial model in an Asian context, and has implications for developing a culturally-informed understanding of BPD.
Abstract Background Down-regulation of negative emotions by cognitive strategies relies on prefrontal cortical modulation of limbic brain regions, and impaired frontolimbic functioning during ...cognitive reappraisal has been observed in affective disorders. However, no study to date has examined cognitive reappraisal in unmedicated euthymic individuals with a history of major depressive disorder relative to symptom-matched controls. Given that a history of depression is a critical risk factor for future depressive episodes, investigating the neural mechanisms of emotion regulation in remitted major depressive disorder (rMDD) may yield novel insights into depression risk. Method We assessed 37 individuals (18 rMDD, 19 controls) with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a task requiring cognitive reappraisal of sad images. Results Both groups demonstrated decreased self-reported negative affect after cognitive reappraisal and no group differences in the effects of cognitive reappraisal on mood were evident. Functional MRI results indicated greater paracingulate gyrus (rostral anterior cingulate cortex, Brodmann area 32) activation and decreased right midfrontal gyrus (Brodmann area 6) activation during the reappraisal of sad images. Limitations Trial-by-trial ratings of pre-regulation affect were not collected, limiting the interpretation of post-regulation negative affect scores. Conclusions Results suggest that activation of rostral anterior cingulate cortex, a region linked to the prediction of antidepressant treatment response, and of the right midfrontal gyrus, a region involved in cognitive control in the context of cognitive reappraisal, may represent endophenotypic markers of future depression risk. Future prospective studies will be needed to validate the predictive utility of these neural markers.
The present study investigated the relative effects of mindfulness, reappraisal and suppression in reducing sadness, and the extent to which implementation of these strategies affects cognitive ...resources in a laboratory context. A total of 171 Singaporean undergraduate participants were randomly assigned to receive brief training in mindfulness, reappraisal, or suppression prior to undergoing a sad mood induction. Individual adherence to Asian cultural values was assessed as a potential moderator of strategy effectiveness. Participants rated their mood and completed a Color-Word Stroop task before and after mood regulation instructions. Analyses using multi-level modelling showed that the suppression condition caused less robust declines in sadness over time compared to mindfulness. There was also a nonsignificant trend in which mindfulness was associated with greater sadness recovery compared to reappraisal. Suppression resulted in lower average sadness compared to mindfulness among those high on Asian cultural values, but not those low on Asian cultural values. Both mindfulness and reappraisal buffered against increases in Stroop interference from pre-to post-regulation compared to suppression. The findings highlight the advantage of mindfulness as a strategy effective not only in the regulation of sad mood, but also in the preservation of cognitive resources in the context of mood regulation.
•Mindfulness facilitated quicker sad mood recovery than suppression.•Mindfulness and reappraisal resulted in less cognitive depletion than suppression.•Asian values predicted lower sadness associated with suppression versus mindfulness.
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