Rumination as a Mediator of the Relation between Mindfulness and Social Anxiety in a Clinical Sample
Date of Award
Fall 9-15-2008
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Psychology
First Advisor
Page Anderson, Ph.D.
Second Advisor
Lisa Armistead, Ph.D.
Third Advisor
Aki Masuda, Ph.D.
Fourth Advisor
Erin Tone, Ph.D.
Abstract
Recent literature has emphasized the possible benefits to mindfulness practice. Evidence for a negative relation between mindfulness and pathology has come from validity studies of several newly developed, self-report mindfulness questionnaires. Results illustrate a consistent negative relation between levels of self-report mindfulness and symptoms of depression, negative affect, and anxiety among college-student samples, however this relation has been previously untested within a clinical sample. The first aim of the present study was to explore the relation between mindfulness levels and social anxiety symptoms in a clinical sample diagnosed with social phobia. Because past research has found mindfulness interventions to be successful in reducing ruminative tendencies, and because recent literature suggests that post-event rumination is an important process in the maintenance of social anxiety, post-event rumination was explored as a mediator of the relation between mindfulness and social anxiety. Participants (N = 98) completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Rumination Questionnaire (RQ), the Fear of Negative Evaluations Brief Form (FNE-B), the Liebowitz Social Anxiety Scale (LSAS), and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) as part of their participation in a larger, randomly controlled treatment outcome study comparing Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy, a form of Cognitive-Behavioral Group Therapy for Social Phobia, and a wait-list control group. Results illustrated a strong negative relation between mindfulness scores (MAAS) and social anxiety symptoms as measured by the FNE-B and the LSAS (ps < .001). However, post-event rumination levels (RQ) were not related to either mindfulness or social anxiety indicating that in the present sample post-event rumination did not act as a mediator for the relation between mindfulness and levels of social anxiety.
DOI
https://doi.org/10.57709/1397851
Recommended Citation
Schmertz, Stefan K., "Rumination as a Mediator of the Relation between Mindfulness and Social Anxiety in a Clinical Sample." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2008.
doi: https://doi.org/10.57709/1397851