A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness: effects on university students' mental health.

BACKGROUND: The development of mental health disorders is common in the university population, and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) seem to be effective in addressing them in different contexts. Thus, this study investigated the impact of an 8-week MBI adapted to university students from the Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBSR) on different symptoms related to mental health problems, specifically symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress and insomnia. METHODS: University students (n = 136) were randomized into MBI group (n = 71) or wait-list group (n = 65). All participants completed self-administered questionnaires before and after the intervention, and the experimental group answered questionnaires weekly during intervention. Generalized mixed models were used to assess the effects of the intervention. RESULTS: There were improvements in the symptoms of stress (B = 5.76, p < 0.001), depression (B = 1.55, p < 0.01) and insomnia (B = 1.35, p = 0.020) from the beginning of the intervention to the final assessment when it was compared to the control group. No effect was found in respect of trait anxiety. The MBI was found to be effective in reducing important symptoms related to university students' mental health, possibly grounding further research on the intervention's potential of preventing the development of mental disorders. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The research was registered in the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) - number RBR-63qsqx, approved at 09/16/2019.

Psychometric properties of the short version of the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire in brazilian portuguese / Propriedades psicométricas da versão curta do Questionário das Cinco Facetas de Mindfulness em português / Propiedades psicométricas de la versión corta del Cuestionario de las Cinco Facetas de Mindfulness en portugués

The aims of the current study were to evaluate the psychometric properties of a short version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-SF-BR) and verify if the addition of wording mechanisms (positive or negative) contributes to the fit of the shortened Brazilian Portuguese version of the FFMQ. Four hundred eight participants answered self-report measurements. Structural equation modelling was employed for both objectives. Adequate model fit was found for the 5-factor FFMQ-SF-BR model, with significant improvements arising from the addition of wording mechanism effects. No evidences of differential item functioning and population heterogeneity were found. Bifactor analysis showed that latent traces are preferred overusing raw sum scores. The FFMQ-SF-BR is suitable to measure mindfulness in the Brazilian population and has the benefits of decreasing data collection length without losing content coverage. (AU)

O presente estudo objetivou avaliar as propriedades psicométricas de uma versão curta em português do Questionário das Cinco Facetas de Mindfulness (FFMQ-SF-BR) e verificar se a adição de mecanismos de formulação dos itens (positivos ou negativos) contribui para o ajuste do modelo em cinco fatores. Quatrocentos e oito participantes preencheram instrumentos de autorrelato. Modelagem de equações estruturais foi aplicada em ambos os objetivos. Índices adequados de ajuste foram encontrados para o modelo em cinco fatores, com melhorias significativas advindas da adição dos mecanismos de formulação dos itens. Não foram encontradas evidências de funcionamento diferencial dos itens ou heterogeneidade populacional. A análise de um modelo bifator demonstrou que valores de traços latentes são preferíveis à soma da pontuação. A FFMQ-SF-BR é adequada para mensurar mindfulness na população brasileira, com os benefícios de diminuir o tempo de coleta sem perda de conteúdo. (AU)

El presente estudio tuvo como objetivo evaluar las propiedades psicométricas de una versión corta del Cuestionario de las Cinco Facetas de Mindfulness (FFMQ-SF-BR) en portugués y verificar si la adición de mecanismos de formulación de ítems (positivos o negativos) contribuye al ajuste del modelo de cinco factores. Cuatrocientos ocho participantes completaron instrumentos de autoinforme. Se aplicó el modelo de ecuaciones estructurales a ambos objetivos. Se encontraron índices de ajuste adecuados para el modelo en cinco factores, con mejoras significativas derivadas de los mecanismos de formulación de ítems. No hubo evidencias de funcionamiento diferencial de los ítems o heterogeneidad de la población. El análisis de un modelo bifactorial mostró que los valores de los rasgos latentes son preferibles a la suma puntuaciones. La FFMQ-SF-BR es adecuada para medir el mindfulness en la población brasileña, reduciendo el tiempo de recolección de datos sin pérdida de contenido. (AU)

Impulsivity and Mindfulness among Inpatients with Alcohol Use Disorder.

BACKGROUND: Impulsivity is both a risk factor for and a consequence of alcohol use disorder (AUD), for which mindfulness-based approaches have been proven to be effective. However, the specific relationship between mindfulness and impulsivity has been little explored in the literature, especially in people with AUD. This study aims to investigate the relationship between different facets of dispositional mindfulness and impulsivity among people with AUD in an inpatient setting in Brazil. Methods: Participants (n = 165) completed the following self-report measures: the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT), the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ-SF), and the Short UPPS-P Impulsive Behavior Scale (SUPPS-P). Multiple imputation techniques and linear models were employed to assess the relationships between dispositional mindfulness and impulsivity. Results: In complete case analysis, the UPPS-P facet "lack of premeditation" was inversely related to the FFMQ facet "non-reactivity" (B = -0.17; p = 0.01); and "positive urgency" was inversely related to "act with awareness" (B = -0.27, p = 0.02) and "non-reactivity" (B = -0.17, p = 0.01). Conclusion: Relationships of varying magnitudes between dispositional mindfulness and impulsivity domains among people with AUD were found, suggesting that higher mindfulness skills are related to less impulsive traits. Our results encourage further longitudinal studies evaluating the potential of specific mindfulness components to decrease impulsivity among AUD inpatients, including its underlying mechanisms.