Mindful Non-reactivity, Anxiety, Depression, and Perceived Stress as Mediators of the Mindfulness Virtual Community Intervention: Pathways to Enhance Mental Health in University Students.
Meysam Pirbaglou, Christo El Morr, Farah Ahmad, Paul Ritvo
{"title":"Mindful Non-reactivity, Anxiety, Depression, and Perceived Stress as Mediators of the Mindfulness Virtual Community Intervention: Pathways to Enhance Mental Health in University Students.","authors":"Meysam Pirbaglou, Christo El Morr, Farah Ahmad, Paul Ritvo","doi":"10.2196/65853","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are widely employed in mental health promotion and treatment. Despite widespread evidence of effectiveness with different populations and delivery modes, there are sparse findings concerning the mechanisms of action in MBIs.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This study, based on a secondary evaluation of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with student participants, was aimed at understanding mediators of the Mindfulness Virtual Community (MVC) intervention, an 8-week, multi-component, online mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy (M-CBT) intervention.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Mediation analysis, using structural equation modeling, was used to assess direct and indirect relationships between study group (i.e. intervention versus wait list control) and outcomes. Consistent with the intervention's theoretical perspective and direct effects paths, a model was specified to evaluate whether mindful non-reactivity, as evaluated by the five-factor mindfulness questionnaire, mediated the effect of study group on anxiety and depression (as symptom-driven outcomes), and perceived stress and quality of life (as functional outcomes). The model included additional mediating paths for perceived stress through anxiety and depression, and for quality of life through anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. The model was thereafter extended, adjusting for pre-intervention differences in mindfulness (i.e. observing, describing, activity with awareness, non-judgement, and non-reactivity) facets.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Direct (non-mediated) effects indicated statistically significant differences at 8 weeks between the MVC and waitlist control (WLC) groups on depression (-1.65, P=.003), anxiety (-3.29, P<.001), perceived stress (-2.28, P=.001), and quality of life (4.07, P=.003), and the non-reactivity facet of mindfulness (1.55, P=.001) in favor of the MWC intervention. Mediation analysis supported the mediating role of the non-reactivity facet of mindfulness, depression, anxiety and perceived stress through single and sequential mediation paths. Results indicated good fit characteristics for the main (CFI=.988; RMSEA=.052; SRMR=.045) and extended (CFI=.992; RMSEA=.043; SRMR=.036) models.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>This research underscores the importance of mindful non-reactivity, depression, and anxiety as key mediators of MVC intervention benefits.</p><p><strong>Clinicaltrial: </strong></p>","PeriodicalId":48616,"journal":{"name":"Jmir Mental Health","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.8000,"publicationDate":"2025-05-13","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Jmir Mental Health","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2196/65853","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"PSYCHIATRY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are widely employed in mental health promotion and treatment. Despite widespread evidence of effectiveness with different populations and delivery modes, there are sparse findings concerning the mechanisms of action in MBIs.
Objective: This study, based on a secondary evaluation of two randomized controlled trials (RCTs) with student participants, was aimed at understanding mediators of the Mindfulness Virtual Community (MVC) intervention, an 8-week, multi-component, online mindfulness and cognitive-behavioral therapy (M-CBT) intervention.
Methods: Mediation analysis, using structural equation modeling, was used to assess direct and indirect relationships between study group (i.e. intervention versus wait list control) and outcomes. Consistent with the intervention's theoretical perspective and direct effects paths, a model was specified to evaluate whether mindful non-reactivity, as evaluated by the five-factor mindfulness questionnaire, mediated the effect of study group on anxiety and depression (as symptom-driven outcomes), and perceived stress and quality of life (as functional outcomes). The model included additional mediating paths for perceived stress through anxiety and depression, and for quality of life through anxiety, depression, and perceived stress. The model was thereafter extended, adjusting for pre-intervention differences in mindfulness (i.e. observing, describing, activity with awareness, non-judgement, and non-reactivity) facets.
Results: Direct (non-mediated) effects indicated statistically significant differences at 8 weeks between the MVC and waitlist control (WLC) groups on depression (-1.65, P=.003), anxiety (-3.29, P<.001), perceived stress (-2.28, P=.001), and quality of life (4.07, P=.003), and the non-reactivity facet of mindfulness (1.55, P=.001) in favor of the MWC intervention. Mediation analysis supported the mediating role of the non-reactivity facet of mindfulness, depression, anxiety and perceived stress through single and sequential mediation paths. Results indicated good fit characteristics for the main (CFI=.988; RMSEA=.052; SRMR=.045) and extended (CFI=.992; RMSEA=.043; SRMR=.036) models.
Conclusions: This research underscores the importance of mindful non-reactivity, depression, and anxiety as key mediators of MVC intervention benefits.
期刊介绍：
JMIR Mental Health (JMH, ISSN 2368-7959) is a PubMed-indexed, peer-reviewed sister journal of JMIR, the leading eHealth journal (Impact Factor 2016: 5.175).
JMIR Mental Health focusses on digital health and Internet interventions, technologies and electronic innovations (software and hardware) for mental health, addictions, online counselling and behaviour change. This includes formative evaluation and system descriptions, theoretical papers, review papers, viewpoint/vision papers, and rigorous evaluations.
求助内容：
应助结果提醒方式：
京公网安备 11010802042870号
