Emily K. Lindsay

Objective: Childhood trauma is thought to program biological adaptations to stress that confer lifelong health risk. Mindfulness interventions have improved mental health among adults exposed to childhood trauma, but whether they can offset physical health risk is unknown. This trial evaluated effects of mindfulness and coping interventions on daily life stress processes in this population. Methods: Eighty-one emerging adults who recalled physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in childhood were randomly assigned to a two-week remote mindfulness or coping comparison intervention. They provided daily life stress (momentary and day-level perceived stress and stressful events) and heart rate data for one week at pre-intervention, post-intervention, and one-month follow-up. Multilevel models tested for time × condition effects. Results: Across conditions, participants reported fewer stressful events over time ( p s<.001), with larger effects following mindfulness training. Mindfulness participants reported higher stress perceptions from pre- to post-intervention relative to coping (momentary: d =.26, P =.002; daily: d =.44, P =.005), effects that were weaker at follow-up (momentary: d =.20, P =.015; daily: d =.19, P =.23). Increases in perceived stress following mindfulness training were more pronounced at higher levels of childhood abuse severity. In contrast, mindfulness participants showed relatively lower heart rate during moments of stress compared to coping participants from pre- to post-intervention ( d =.62, P =.004). Conclusions: Brief mindfulness training alters stress processes among adults who recall childhood trauma, reducing stressful events and physiological reactivity while intensifying stress perceptions. Results suggest the possibility that brief mindfulness training increases awareness and reduces emotional avoidance of stress experience. Further work is warranted to examine mindfulness intervention effects on stress-related health trajectories in trauma-exposed populations.

Introduction: Childhood abuse has a significant impact on adulthood mental health. Many children cope with the threat of abuse through avoidant strategies; however, this adaptation may contribute to the development of depersonalization symptoms and dissociative disorders. In contrast, the development of trait mindfulness, the tendency to monitor present-moment experience from an accepting perspective, may buffer depersonalization symptoms. This study tests whether trait mindfulness, particularly acceptance, moderates the association between childhood abuse and depersonalization among young adults with a self-reported history of abuse. Methods: As part of a larger trial, 81 participants (18–29 years, 85% female) reported childhood abuse (physical, emotional, sexual), trait mindfulness subscales, and depersonalization symptoms. Results: Regression models showed an association between childhood abuse and depersonalization symptoms ( β = 0.30, p = 0.04); trait mindfulness moderated this relationship, such that the association between abuse and depersonalization was weakest among those with high mindfulness ( β = −0.05, p = 0.73). Participants reporting high Observe and high Nonjudge subscale scores showed the strongest buffering effect ( β = −0.12, p = 0.62), whereas the abuse-depersonalization association remained among those with high Observe with low Nonjudge scores ( β = 0.50, p = 0.038). There was no association between abuse and depersonalization among those with high Observe and high Nonreact scores ( β = 0.11, p = 0.67) or, unexpectedly, high Observe and low Nonreact scores ( β = 0.36, p = 0.27). However, high Nonjudge and Nonreact scores alone ( β = 0.21, p = 0.36; β = 0.04, p = 0.80) attenuated the abuse-depersonalization association. Discussion: Trait mindfulness, particularly acceptance, may buffer against the development of depersonalization symptoms in trauma-exposed adults. Understanding this relationship informs theories on traumatic resilience and mindfulness-based therapies.

Objectives: Although mindfulness training is associated with reductions in trait repetitive thought over time, mindfulness is less well understood as a regulatory strategy for momentary (state) repetitive thought. This review examined evidence for a theoretically-predicted inverse momentary association between mindfulness and repetitive thought.Methods: A systematic search of PubMed, PsycInfo, and Web of Science was conducted on August 1, 2024 to identify studies that 1) used an experimental induction or momentary assessment design; 2) reported an association between facets of mindfulness and repetitive thought; and 3) were published in English. Data extraction and methodological quality assessment used a standardized codebook and data were synthesized narratively. Results: Forty eligible studies were identified and grouped by methodology: experimental induction (k = 17), ecological momentary assessment (EMA; k = 12), ecological momentary intervention (EMI; k = 3), and daily diary (k = 8). Almost all studies used adult samples, including clinical, elevated symptom, and non-clinical samples. Most EMA studies found the predicted inverse association between state mindfulness and repetitive thought with small to medium effect sizes. Findings from experimental and daily diary studies were more mixed. Discussion: Despite theoretical predictions of a strong and consistent inverse association between mindfulness and repetitive thought, observed patterns varied by methodology and facet of mindfulness. Although methodological heterogeneity and psychometric quality issues indicate the importance of standardized assessments in future research, the present review suggests that mindful awareness may be a mechanism by which mindfulness regulates repetitive thought.

The tendency to maintain a positive outlook during adversity associates with better health. Interventions that help people cope with stress by maintaining a positive perspective have potential to improve health. Mindfulness interventions show promise for enhancing positive affect in daily life, and developing acceptance toward momentary experiences may help people notice more positive experiences under stress. In a sample of 153 healthy stressed adults (M_age = 32 years; 67% female; 53% White, 22% Black, 22% Asian, 4% other race; 5% Hispanic; collected in 2015-2016), we tested whether mindfulness training, and acceptance training in particular, boosts awareness of positive experiences during acute stress. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three matched 15-lesson remote interventions: (1) Monitor + Accept, standard mindfulness instruction in both monitoring and acceptance; (2) Monitor Only, dismantled mindfulness instruction in monitoring only; or (3) Coping control. After the intervention, positive (and negative) experiences during acute stress challenge (using a modified Trier Social Stress Test) were assessed using a new checklist measure. As predicted, Monitor + Accept participants reported noticing significantly more positive experiences during acute stress than Monitor Only (d = .61) and control (d = .58) participants, whereas the number of negative experiences noticed did not differ by condition. Across conditions, positive experiences during acute stress correlated with daily life positive emotions at postintervention (r = .21). Results suggest that mindfulness training, and acceptance training in particular, can broaden awareness to include more positive affective experiences. This work has important implications for understanding coping and affect dynamics following mindfulness interventions. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).

Objective: Aging is associated with increased proinflammatory gene expression and systemic inflammation, and psychosocial stress may accelerate these changes. Mindfulness interventions show promise for reducing psychosocial stress and extending healthspan. Inflammatory pathways may play a role. In a sample of lonely older adults, we tested whether mindfulness training reduces proinflammatory gene expression and protein markers of systemic inflammation. Methods: Lonely older adults (65–85 years; N = 190) were randomly assigned to an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) or matched Health Enhancement Program (HEP). Blood was drawn before and after the intervention and at 3-month follow-up. In peripheral blood mononuclear cells, RNA profiling was used to assess transcriptional regulation by proinflammatory nuclear factor κB (NF-κB) as well as β-adrenergic cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB), antiviral interferon regulatory factor (IRF), and glucocorticoid receptor (GR) transcription factors. Plasma was assayed for proinflammatory markers interleukin 6 (IL-6) and C-reactive protein (CRP). Analyses tested time (pre, post, follow-up) by condition (MBSR versus HEP) effects. Results: MBSR reduced NF-κB (d = 0.17, p = .028) but did not alter CREB (d = 0.10, p = .20), IRF (d = 0.13, p = .086), or GR activity (d = 0.14, p = .063) relative to HEP over time. Contrary to predictions, there were no time by condition effects of MBSR compared with HEP on reducing circulating IL-6 or CRP. Conclusions: In lonely older adults, MBSR reduced cellular proinflammatory gene regulation in ways that would predict reduced disease risk. However, no similar effect was observed for circulating protein markers of inflammation. These results provide specificity about how mindfulness interventions may impact distinct inflammatory markers among aging adults in ways that may have important implications for healthspan. Trial Registration: Clinical Trials identifier NCT02888600.