The Effectiveness of Mindfulness Training on Anxiety and Working Memory: Attention to the Role of Worry and Rumination

پژوهش های روان شناسی بالینی و مشاوره

Article 3, Volume 11, Issue 1 - Serial Number 21, December 2021, Pages 41-59   

Document Type: Original Article

DOI: 10.22067/tpccp.2021.68126.1015

Authors

Maryam Ranjkesh¹; Tahereh Elahi^{* 2}; Zekrollah Morvvati²; kobra Ghasemi¹

¹Graduate\University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

²َAssociate Professor\ University of Zanjan, Zanjan, Iran

Abstract

Purpose:  The aim of the present study was to investigate the effectiveness of mindfulness training on anxiety and working memory by taking the role of worry and rumination into consideration.
Method:  The method of this study was quasi-experimental with a three-group pre-test/post-test design. The research statistical population consisted of all eleventh and twelfth grade female students in Qorveh city in the academic year 2015-16. From this population, using purposive sampling method, 93 students who had above-average anxiety scores were selected and randomly assigned to three groups: experimental, placebo, and control. The experimental group received eight training sessions of mindfulness-based stress reduction program. The placebo group received eight training sessions of the English language and the control group received no training. Data were collected using Spielberger Anxiety Inventory, Rumination-Reflection Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, and Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test. The data were analyzed by SPANOVA statistical method.
Findings: The results indicated significant differences between the experimental, placebo, and control groups in all the variables of interest. It was specified that mindfulness-based stress reduction program was influential in reducing anxiety, rumination, and worry, and increasing working memory performance.

Keywords

Mindfulness; Anxiety; Rumination; Working memory; Worry

References

Ahmadvand, Z. (2013). An investigation of the validity and reliability of psychometric characteristics of five facet mindfulness questionnaire in Iranian non-clinical samples. Journal of Behavioral Sciences, 7, 229-237.

American Psychiatric Association, A., & Association, A. P. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders: DSM-5 (Vol. 10): Washington, DC: American psychiatric association.

Antony, M. M., Orsillo, S. M., & Roemer, L. (2001). Practitioner's guide to empirically based measures of anxiety: Springer Science & Business Media.

Arch, J. J., & Ayers, C. R. (2013). Which treatment worked better for whom? Moderators of group cognitive behavioral therapy versus adapted mindfulness based stress reduction for anxiety disorders. Behaviour research and therapy, 51(8), 434-442.

Bachmann, K., Lam, A. P., Sörös, P., Kanat, M., Hoxhaj, E., Matthies, S., . . . Thiel, C. M. (2018). Effects of mindfulness and psychoeducation on working memory in adult ADHD: a randomised, controlled fMRI study. Behaviour research and therapy, 106, 47-56.

Baddeley, A. (2003). Working memory: looking back and looking forward. Nature reviews neuroscience, 4(10), 829-839.

Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13(1), 27-45.

Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Lykins, E., Button, D., Krietemeyer, J., Sauer, S., . . . Williams, J. M. G. (2008). Construct validity of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in meditating and nonmeditating samples. Assessment, 15(3), 329-342.

Bahrami, L., Salianeh, M. A., Farsi, A. R., & Nikravan, A. (2017). The Effect of Mindfulness and Working Memory Training on Quality of Life in Active Elderly. Sport Psychology Studies, 6(21), 1-16.

Bayrami, M., & Abdi, R. (2009). The effect of mindfulness-based techniques in reduction of students test anxiety. Journal of Instruction and Evaluation, 2(6), 35-54.

Bertrand, R., & Camos, V. (2015). The role of attention in preschoolers’ working memory. Cognitive Development, 33, 14-27.

Black, S. W. (2016). Rumination, worry, and drinking behaviors in college students: a mediation analysis. Doctoral Dissertation (Ph.D), The university of Louisville, U. S. A.

Boettcher, J., Åström, V., Påhlsson, D., Schenström, O., Andersson, G., & Carlbring, P. (2014). Internet-based mindfulness treatment for anxiety disorders: a randomized controlled trial. Behavior therapy, 45(2), 241-253.

Bowen, S., Chawla, N., Collins, S. E., Witkiewitz, K., Hsu, S., Grow, J., . . . Larimer, M. E. (2009). Mindfulness-based relapse prevention for substance use disorders: A pilot efficacy trial. Substance abuse, 30(4), 295-305.

Brown, A. P., Marquis, A., & Guiffrida, D. A. (2013). Mindfulness‐based interventions in counseling. Journal of Counseling & Development, 91(1), 96-104.

Carter, J. A. (2010). Worry and rumination: Measurement invariance across gender: Utah State University.

Christopher, G., & MacDonald, J. (2005). The impact of clinical depression on working memory. Cognitive neuropsychiatry, 10(5), 379-399.

Comer, J. S., Puliafico, A. C., Aschenbrand, S. G., McKnight, K., Robin, J. A., Goldfine, M. E., & Albano, A. M. (2012). A pilot feasibility evaluation of the CALM Program for anxiety disorders in early childhood. Journal of anxiety disorders, 26(1), 40-49.

Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., . . . Sheridan, J. F. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic medicine, 65(4), 564-570.

Deary, I. J., Langan, S. J., Hepburn, D. A., & Frier, B. M. (1991). Which abilities does the PASAT test? Personality and Individual Differences, 12(10), 983-987.

Feldman, G., Greeson, J., & Senville, J. (2010). Differential effects of mindful breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and loving-kindness meditation on decentering and negative reactions to repetitive thoughts. Behaviour research and therapy, 48(10), 1002-1011.

Fletcher, L. B., Schoendorff, B., & Hayes, S. C. (2010). Searching for mindfulness in the brain: A process-oriented approach to examining the neural correlates of mindfulness. Mindfulness, 1(1), 41-63.

Hunter, M. A., Lieberman, G., Coffman, B. A., Trumbo, M. C., Armenta, M. L., Robinson, C. S., . . . Romero, V. (2018). Mindfulness-based training with transcranial direct current stimulation modulates neuronal resource allocation in working memory: A randomized pilot study with a nonequivalent control group. Heliyon, 4(7), e00685.

Jha, A. P., Stanley, E. A., Kiyonaga, A., Wong, L., & Gelfand, L. (2010). Examining the protective effects of mindfulness training on working memory capacity and affective experience. Emotion, 10(1), 54-64.

Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: Past, present, and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156.

Kabat-Zinn, J., Maisson, A., Kristeller, J., & Gay Peterson, L. fletcher, KE, Pbert, L., Lenderking, WR, & Santorelli, Sf (1992). Effectiveness of a Meditation Based Stress Reduction Program in the Treatment of Anxiety Disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 149, 936-943.

Li, S. Y. H., & Bressington, D. (2019). The effects of mindfulness‐based stress reduction on depression, anxiety, and stress in older adults: A systematic review and meta‐analysis. International journal of mental health nursing, 28(3), 635-656.

Majid, S. A., Seghatoleslam, T., Homan, H., Akhvast, A., & Habil, H. (2012). Effect of mindfulness based stress management on reduction of generalized anxiety disorder. Iranian journal of public health, 41(10), 24-28.

Mansouri, A., Farnam, A., Bakhshipour, R. A., & Mahmood, A. M. (2010). The comparison of rumination in patients with major depression disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and normal individuals, Journal of  sabzevar university of medical Sciences, 17(3), 189-195.

Meyer, T. J., Miller, M. L., Metzger, R. L., & Borkovec, T. D. (1990). Development and validation of the penn state worry questionnaire. Behaviour research and therapy, 28(6), 487-495.

Morrison, A. B., Goolsarran, M., Rogers, S. L., & Jha, A. P. (2014). Taming a wandering attention: short-form mindfulness training in student cohorts. Frontiers in human neuroscience, 7, 1-12.

Mrazek, M. D., Smallwood, J., & Schooler, J. W. (2012). Mindfulness and mind-wandering: finding convergence through opposing constructs. Emotion, 12(3), 442-448.

Nazarboland, N., & Farzaneh, H. (2009). Working memory impairments in patients with major depressive disorder. Iranian Journal of Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, 15(3), 308-311.

Nolen-Hoeksema, S., & Morrow, J. (1991). A prospective study of depression and posttraumatic stress symptoms after a natural disaster: the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. Journal of personality and social psychology, 61(1), 115-121.

Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on psychological science, 3(5), 400-424.

Panahi-Shahri, M. (1993). The primary study in validity, reliability and morms of the state-trait anxiety inventori (STAI) in Iranian student smaple [Dissertation]. Tehran: Tarbiat Modares University.

Papageorgiou, C., & Wells, A. (2004). Depressive rumination: Nature, theory and treatment: Wiley Online Library.

Quach, D., Mano, K. E. J., & Alexander, K. (2016). A randomized controlled trial examining the effect of mindfulness meditation on working memory capacity in adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 58(5), 489-496.

Rosenzweig, S., Greeson, J. M., Reibel, D. K., Green, J. S., Jasser, S. A., & Beasley, D. (2010). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for chronic pain conditions: variation in treatment outcomes and role of home meditation practice. Journal of psychosomatic research, 68(1), 29-36.

Segal, Z. V., Teasdale, J. D., & Williams, J. M. G. (2004). Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy: Theoretical Rationale and Empirical Status. In S. C. Hayes, V. M. Follette, & M. M. Linehan (Eds.), Mindfulness and acceptance: Expanding the cognitive-behavioral tradition (pp. 45–65). Guilford Press.

Shirinzadeh Dastgiri, S., Gudarzi, M. A., Ghanizadeh, A., & Taghavi, S. M. R. (2008). Comparison of metacognitive and responsibility beliefs in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder and normal individuals. Iranian journal of psychiatry and clinical psychology, 14(1), 46-55.

Slagter, H. A., Lutz, A., Greischar, L. L., Francis, A. D., Nieuwenhuis, S., Davis, J. M., & Davidson, R. J. (2007). Mental training affects distribution of limited brain resources. PLoS Biol, 5(6), e138.

Song, Y., & Lindquist, R. (2015). Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on depression, anxiety, stress and mindfulness in Korean nursing students. Nurse education today, 35(1), 86-90.

Subramanya, P., & Telles, S. (2009). Effect of two yoga-based relaxation techniques on memory scores and state anxiety. BioPsychoSocial Medicine, 3(1), 1-5.

Tiedeman, M. E., & Clatworthy, S. (1990). Anxiety responses of 5-to 11-year-old children during and after hospitalization. Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 5(5), 334-343.

Topper, M., Emmelkamp, P. M., & Ehring, T. (2010). Improving prevention of depression and anxiety disorders: Repetitive negative thinking as a promising target. Applied and Preventive Psychology, 14(1-4), 57-71.

Wells, L. L. (2010a). Associations between mindfulness and symptoms of anxiety. Thesis M. A, East Tennessee State University.  

Williams, J. M. G., Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z. V., & Soulsby, J. (2000). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy reduces overgeneral autobiographical memory in formerly depressed patients. Journal of abnormal psychology, 109(1), 150- 155.