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In recent years, the number of studies on the relationship between dispositional mindfulness (DM) facets and depression and anxiety symptoms has increased notably. The objective of this meta-analysis was to identify the longitudinal predictive associations from DM facets to depression and anxiety symptoms in both adult and adolescent samples. Studies were eligible if they measured anxiety or depressive symptoms at least two times and DM during the first measurement. This meta-analysis seeks to clarify the proposed relationships, applying a Two-Stage Structural Equation Modeling method to data collected from adult and adolescent studies. In total, 34 studies were included. The results indicated that, in adult samples, the facets of Acting with Awareness, Non-Judging, Describing, and Non-Reacting covaried significantly with depression and anxiety symptoms at time one, but only Acting with Awareness and Non-Reacting facets predicted a decrease of symptoms over time. Due to the scarcity of studies using childhood and adolescent samples, only the role of Acting with Awareness predicting depression was evaluated, and the results indicated that this facet predicts a decrease in depression over time among adolescents. These results provide insight into the longitudinal relationships between DM facets and depression and anxiety symptoms and suggest the importance of focusing attention on these facets in mindfulness interventions. The project was preregistered at the Open Science Framework ( https://osf.io/ye4af ).

The number of adolescent refugees around the world has been continuously increasing over the past few years trying to escape war and terror, among other things. Such experience not only increases the risk for mental health problems including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but also may have implications for socio-cognitive development. This study tested cognitive-affective processing in refugee adolescents who had escaped armed conflict in Syria and now resided in Istanbul, Turkey. Adolescents were split into a high trauma (n = 31, 12 girls, mean age = 11.70 years, SD = 1.15 years) and low trauma (n = 27, 14 girls, mean age = 11.07 years, SD = 1.39 years) symptom group using median split, and performed a working memory task with emotional distraction to assess cognitive control and a surprise faces task to assess emotional interpretation bias. The results indicated that high (vs. low) trauma symptom youth were ~ 20% worse correctly remembering the spatial location of a cue, although both groups performed at very low levels. However, this finding was not modulated by emotion. In addition, although all youths also had a ~ 20% bias toward interpreting ambiguous (surprise) faces as more negative, the high (vs. low) symptom youth were faster when allocating such a face to the positive (vs. negative) emotion category. The findings suggest the impact of war-related trauma on cognitive-affective processes essential to healthy development.

Mindful parenting has been proposed as a contributing factor for reducing psychological problems in children. However, mixed results regarding the association between mindful parenting and child psychological problems suggest that the benefits could be moderated by children’s characteristics. This study, based on differential susceptibility to parenting models, aims to examine whether child dispositional mindfulness profiles can moderate the impact of mindful parenting, so that children with a poorer dispositional mindfulness profile benefit more when their parents present a mindful parenting style. A total of 348 parents and their adolescent children participated in a two-wave longitudinal study with a 1-year interval. Parents answered measures of mindful parenting (mindful discipline and being in the moment with the child), and children answered measures of dispositional mindfulness, depressive symptoms, aggressive behavior, and peer victimization. The adolescents were classified according to their dispositional mindfulness profiles. Mindful discipline predicted reduced depressive symptoms, aggression, and victimization after 1 year, whereas, being with the child only predicted reduced depressive symptoms. The results showed an interaction effect, according to which adolescents with poor dispositional mindfulness (i.e., high scores in observing and low scores in nonjudging and acting with awareness) benefited more from mindful parenting. Adolescents with a poor dispositional mindfulness profile benefit the most from mindful parenting. Adolescents with an adequate mindfulness profile tend to show lower levels of aggression and depressive symptoms, regardless of whether their parents exhibit a mindful parenting style.

Grounded on transactional models of psychopathology, the aim of the present study was to examine whether there are bidirectional long-term predictive associations between mindfulness facets, maladaptive schemas, and depressive symptoms during adolescence. A sample of 855 students (417 girls, Mage = 14.60, SD = 1.00) was assessed at three time points separated by 6 months. They completed the Short Form of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the disconnection/rejection domain of Young Schema Questionnaire, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Depressive symptoms predicted schemas and lower describe, non-reacting, and non-judging. Schemas predicted higher depression, observe, and non-reacting and lower describe, acting with awareness, and non-judging. Describe and acting with awareness predicted reductions of schemas and depressive symptoms, respectively. These bidirectional relationships were mostly similar for a high depression group and a low depression group. Subsequent bootstrapping analyses supported significant mediating effects. These findings support the use of transactional models and the inclusion of bidirectional relationships in explanatory models of psychopathology. Furthermore, depressive symptoms and cognitive vulnerabilities can worsen mindfulness facets in adolescents.

This randomized controlled trial (NCT04786496) examined the effects of a preventive intervention based on Incremental Theory of the Personality (ITP) on psychophysiological responses to social stress and evaluated whether levels of depression moderate the intervention effects. The participants, 107 first-year university students, were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: ITP intervention, ITP + a self-affirmation intervention (SA), and a control condition (CC). Indicators of the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal axis, autonomic nervous system, and subjective mood were assessed with the Trier Social Stress Task. Participants in the ITP condition displayed a lower decline in respiratory sinus arrythmia (RSA) compared to those in the CC during the first phases of the task [Slopes: -0.08 (0.09) vs -0.21 (0.09), z = 2.86, p = .004] and a higher decrease in cortisol at recovery [β = -0.18 (0.08), z = -2.37, p = .018]. Depressive symptoms moderated the effect of ITP [β = -0.10 (0.05), z = -2.15, p =.032] and ITP+SA [β = -0.09 (0.04), z = -2.06, p =.039] in the decline during stress and recovery in RSA. In participants with low/medium levels of depressive symptoms, both interventions predicted a lower decline during stress [Slopes: -0.06 (0.09) for ITP, -0.17 (.09) for ITP+SA, and -0.26 (0.09) for CC] and higher recovery in RSA [Slopes: 0.18 (0.01) for ITP, 0.24 (0.01) for ITP+SA, and 0.30 (0.01) for CC]. The findings suggest that the ITP intervention has the potential to be an effective preventive intervention to reduce the stress response.

During adolescence, there are important changes in both depressive symptoms and self-concept; thus, the present study aimed to examine the effects of a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on depression and self-concept in adolescents and test whether age moderated the changes. A sample of 300 students aged between 13 and 21 years (M = 16.13, SD = 1.80), randomly assigned to either the MBI or a wait-list control group, completed the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale and Self-Concept Form-5 Questionnaire before and after implementation of the Learning to Breathe program. The intervention effects on the changes in some factors of depression and dimensions of self-concept were moderated by age. The intervention prevented increases in depression and somatic symptoms, decreased interpersonal difficulties, and increased social self-concept in older adolescents. However, in younger adolescents, there was an increase in depression, depressed affect, and somatic symptoms post-intervention. The effectiveness of mindfulness training was higher in the oldest adolescents, suggesting that MBIs should be even more precisely adapted for younger adolescents. Implications for the implementation of mindfulness programs in schools are discussed.

The number of adolescent refugees around the world has been continuously increasing over the past few years trying to escape war and terror, among other things. Such experience not only increases the risk for mental health problems including anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but also may have implications for socio-cognitive development. This study tested cognitive-affective processing in refugee adolescents who had escaped armed conflict in Syria and now resided in Istanbul, Turkey. Adolescents were split into a high trauma (n = 31, 12 girls, mean age = 11.70 years, SD = 1.15 years) and low trauma (n = 27, 14 girls, mean age = 11.07 years, SD = 1.39 years) symptom group using median split, and performed a working memory task with emotional distraction to assess cognitive control and a surprise faces task to assess emotional interpretation bias. The results indicated that high (vs. low) trauma symptom youth were ~ 20% worse correctly remembering the spatial location of a cue, although both groups performed at very low levels. However, this finding was not modulated by emotion. In addition, although all youths also had a ~ 20% bias toward interpreting ambiguous (surprise) faces as more negative, the high (vs. low) symptom youth were faster when allocating such a face to the positive (vs. negative) emotion category. The findings suggest the impact of war-related trauma on cognitive-affective processes essential to healthy development.

The high prevalence and negative consequences of poor sleep during adolescence have led to an increasing interest in the role played by protective and risk factors. This study examined whether mindfulness profiles predicted fewer sleep problems and whether rumination mediated this association. A sample of 304 adolescents (M age = 16.40, SD = 1.61) was assessed at three time points separated by two months, and completed measures of dispositional mindfulness, sleep problems, and rumination. According to scores on mindfulness facets, a two-profile model emerged as the most adequate: one characterized by “non-judgmental awareness” and the other by “judgmental observation”. Being “non-judgmentally aware” appeared to protect against rumination and sleep problems, such as the need for medication and sensitivity to disturbances. However, mindfulness profiles may be related in different ways to each specific aspect of sleep. The implications of the study for the prevention and treatment of sleep problems are discussed.

The Mindfulness in Parenting Questionnaire (MIPQ) is a self-report instrument to measure how much parents practice mindful parenting. The main aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the MIPQ.A total of 271 parents of adolescents completed the MIPQ along with questionnaires about their mindfulness trait, parenting style, and their children's resilience and symptoms of depression. Their adolescent children completed questionnaires about their own depressive symptoms, their perception of their parents' parenting style, and their perceived stress.Factor analyses suggested a two-factor structure corresponding to Being in the Moment with the Child and Mindful Discipline. Moreover, the MIPQ showed good internal consistency and was related to parent's dispositional mindfulness and positive parenting as well as to adolescents' resilience and (negatively) to their depressive symptoms.The Spanish version of the MIPQ exhibits good psychometric properties and is an easily applicable test for the assessment of mindful parenting.

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