Eleven strategies for making reproducible research and open science training the norm at research institutions.

Reproducible research and open science practices have the potential to accelerate scientific progress by allowing others to reuse research outputs, and by promoting rigorous research that is more likely to yield trustworthy results. However, these practices are uncommon in many fields, so there is a clear need for training that helps and encourages researchers to integrate reproducible research and open science practices into their daily work. Here, we outline eleven strategies for making training in these practices the norm at research institutions. The strategies, which emerged from a virtual brainstorming event organized in collaboration with the German Reproducibility Network, are concentrated in three areas: (i) adapting research assessment criteria and program requirements; (ii) training; (iii) building communities. We provide a brief overview of each strategy, offer tips for implementation, and provide links to resources. We also highlight the importance of allocating resources and monitoring impact. Our goal is to encourage researchers - in their roles as scientists, supervisors, mentors, instructors, and members of curriculum, hiring or evaluation committees - to think creatively about the many ways they can promote reproducible research and open science practices in their institutions.

Comparing impacts of meditation training in focused attention, open monitoring, and mindfulness-based cognitive therapy on emotion reactivity and regulation: Neural and subjective evidence from a dismantling study.

Commonly conducted mindfulness-based trainings such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) highlight training in two key forms of meditation: focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM). Largely unknown is what each of these mindfulness practices contributes to emotional and other important training outcomes. This dismantling trial compared the effects of structurally equivalent trainings in MBCT, FA, and OM on neural and subjective markers of emotional reactivity and regulation among community adults, with the aim to better understand which forms of training represent active ingredients in mindfulness trainings. Participants with varying levels of depressive symptoms were randomized to one of the three trainings. Before and after each 8-week training, N = 89 participants completed a modified version of the Emotional Reactivity and Regulation Task while electroencephalographic (EEG) and self-reported emotional responses to negative, positive, and neutral photographic images were collected. Examination of EEG-based frontal alpha band asymmetry during passive viewing (reactivity) and active regulation phases of the task showed that FA and MBCT trainings produced significant leftward hemispheric shifts in frontal alpha asymmetry, commonly associated with a shift toward approach-based positive affect. Self-reported emotional responses to negative images corroborated these results, suggesting salutary changes in both emotional reactivity and regulation. OM training had limited beneficial effects, restricted to the subjective outcomes. The findings suggest that MBCT may derive its greatest benefit from training in FA rather than OM. Discussion highlights the potential value of FA training for emotional health.

Big Five traits predict stress and loneliness during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence for the role of neuroticism.

The rapid outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has affected citizens' daily lives in an unprecedented way. To curb the spread of the pandemic, governments have taken numerous measures such as social distancing and quarantine, which may be associated with psychological consequences, namely stress and loneliness globally. To understand differential associations of personality traits with psychological consequences of COVID-19, we utilize data from a sample of 99,217 individuals from 41 countries collected as part of the COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey. Data were analyzed using multigroup confirmatory factor analysis and multilevel regression models. Findings showed that while some of the associations were rather weak, Big Five personality traits were significantly associated with perceived stress and loneliness during the pandemic. Our study illustrates that neuroticism especially can be a vulnerability factor for stress and loneliness in times of crisis and can contribute to detection of at-risk individuals and optimization of psychological treatments during or after the COVID-19 pandemic.

The contributions of focused attention and open monitoring in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for affective disturbances: A 3-armed randomized dismantling trial.

OBJECTIVE: Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) includes a combination of focused attention (FA) and open monitoring (OM) meditation practices. The aim of this study was to assess both short- and long-term between- and within-group differences in affective disturbance among FA, OM and their combination (MBCT) in the context of a randomized controlled trial. METHOD: One hundred and four participants with mild to severe depression and anxiety were randomized into one of three 8-week interventions: MBCT (n = 32), FA (n = 36) and OM (n = 36). Outcome measures included the Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology (IDS), and the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (DASS). Mixed effects regression models were used to assess differential treatment effects during treatment, post-treatment (8 weeks) and long-term (20 weeks). The Reliable Change Index (RCI) was used to translate statistical findings into clinically meaningful improvements or deteriorations. RESULTS: All treatments demonstrated medium to large improvements (ds = 0.42-1.65) for almost all outcomes. While all treatments were largely comparable in their effects at post-treatment (week 8), the treatments showed meaningful differences in rapidity of response and pattern of deteriorations. FA showed the fastest rate of improvement and the fewest deteriorations on stress, anxiety and depression during treatment, but a loss of treatment-related gains and lasting deteriorations in depression at week 20. OM showed the slowest rate of improvement and lost treatment-related gains for anxiety, resulting in higher anxiety in OM at week 20 than MBCT (d = 0.40) and FA (d = 0.36), though these differences did not reach statistical significance after correcting for multiple comparisons (p's = .06). MBCT and OM showed deteriorations in stress, anxiety and depression at multiple timepoints during treatment, with lasting deteriorations in stress and depression. MBCT showed the most favorable pattern for long-term treatment of depression. CONCLUSIONS: FA, OM and MBCT show different patterns of response for different dimensions of affective disturbance. TRIAL REGISTRATION: This trial is registered at (v NCT01831362); www.clinicaltrials.gov.

The Effects of Mindfulness and Meditation on Vagally Mediated Heart Rate Variability: A Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: Heart rate variability (HRV) is a marker of autonomic nervous system function associated with both physical and mental health. Many studies have suggested that mindfulness and meditation-based interventions (MBIs) are associated with improvements in HRV, but findings are mixed, and to date, no comprehensive meta-analysis has synthesized results. METHODS: Systematic literature searches were conducted using PsycINFO, Embase, Medline, CINAHL, ERIC, and Scopus to identify randomized controlled trials (RCTs) investigating the effects of predominantly seated MBIs on resting-state vagally mediated HRV. Risk of bias was judged using the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. RESULTS: Nineteen RCTs met the criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Random-effects meta-analysis found that MBIs were not efficacious in increasing vagally mediated resting-state HRV relative to control conditions (Hedges g = 0.38, 95% confidence interval [CI] = -0.014 to 0.77). When removing an outlier (g = 3.22), the effect size was reduced, CI narrowed, and findings remained nonsignificant (g = 0.19, 95% CI = -0.02 to 0.39). High heterogeneity in results (I2 = 89.12%) could not be explained by a priori-determined moderators including intervention duration, study setting, and control type. CONCLUSIONS: There is currently insufficient evidence to indicate that MBIs lead to improvements in vagally mediated HRV over control conditions. Future large, well-designed RCTs with low risk of methodological bias could help add to the current evidence to elucidate any role MBIs might play in impacting HRV.

Predictors of Out-of-Class Mindfulness Practice Adherence During and After a Mindfulness-Based Intervention.

OBJECTIVE: Out-of-class mindfulness meditation practice is a health behavior that is considered to be a crucial ingredient in mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), yet participant adherence to practice recommendations is often inconsistent. Furthermore, MBIs may enhance factors that lead to greater adherence to medical regimens in other contexts. This study examined baseline factors previously found to relate to adherence to medical regimen, MBI-related changes in these baseline factors, and treatment-related factors as predictors of meditation adherence in an 8-week MBI. METHODS: Baseline traits (personality, depressive symptoms, and executive function) were entered into regression models (n = 96) to predict intervention and postintervention out-of-class meditation adherence. Trait changes and treatment-related factors were entered into models to predict postintervention meditation adherence. RESULTS: Baseline conscientiousness (ß = 0.33, p = .002), openness (ß = 0.23, p = .019), and depressive symptoms (ß = 0.19, p = .042) predicted intervention meditation adherence, whereas conscientiousness (ß = 0.21, p = .044) and depressive symptoms (ß = 0.22, p = .020) predicted postintervention meditation adherence. Although all trait variables except for agreeableness changed significantly pre-to-post intervention, these changes did not predict postintervention meditation adherence. Retreat attendance (ß = 0.38, p = .029) and instructor/group-related therapeutic factors collectively predicted postintervention meditation adherence (R2 = 0.21, p = .019). CONCLUSIONS: The identified baseline trait factors could be used to increase adherence in these interventions as a method of increasing their effectiveness. An emphasis on the MBI retreat and social factors during the intervention may be important for participant out-of-class practice postintervention.Trial Registration:ClinicalTrials.govNCT01831362.

Who is the Most Stressed During the COVID-19 Pandemic? Data From 26 Countries and Areas.

BACKGROUND: To limit the rapid spread of COVID-19, countries have asked their citizens to stay at home. As a result, demographic and cultural factors related to home life have become especially relevant to predict population well-being during isolation. This pre-registered worldwide study analyses the relationship between the number of adults and children in a household, marital status, age, gender, education level, COVID-19 severity, individualism-collectivism, and perceived stress. METHODS: We used the COVIDiSTRESS Global Survey data of 53,524 online participants from 26 countries and areas. The data were collected between 30 March and 6 April 2020. RESULTS: Higher levels of stress were associated with younger age, being a woman, lower level of education, being single, staying with more children, and living in a country or area with a more severe COVID-19 situation. CONCLUSIONS: The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that certain people may be more susceptible to experience elevated levels of stress. Our findings highlight the need for public health to be attentive to both the physical and the psychological well-being of these groups.

The Contribution of Common and Specific Therapeutic Factors to Mindfulness-Based Intervention Outcomes.

While Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs) have been shown to be effective for a range of patient populations and outcomes, a question remains as to the role of common therapeutic factors, as opposed to the specific effects of mindfulness practice, in contributing to patient improvements. This project used a mixed-method design to investigate the contribution of specific (mindfulness practice-related) and common (instructor and group related) therapeutic factors to client improvements within an MBI. Participants with mild-severe depression (N = 104; 73% female, M age = 40.28) participated in an 8-week MBI. Specific therapeutic factors (formal out-of-class meditation minutes and informal mindfulness practice frequency) and social common factors (instructor and group ratings) were entered into multilevel growth curve models to predict changes in depression, anxiety, stress, and mindfulness at six timepoints from baseline to 3-month follow-up. Qualitative interviews with participants provided rich descriptions of how instructor and group related factors played a role in therapeutic trajectories. Findings indicated that instructor ratings predicted changes in depression and stress, group ratings predicted changes in stress and self-reported mindfulness, and formal meditation predicted changes in anxiety and stress, while informal mindfulness practice did not predict client improvements. Social common factors were stronger predictors of improvements in depression, stress, and self-reported mindfulness than specific mindfulness practice-related factors. Qualitative data supported the importance of relationships with instructor and group members, involving bonding, expressing feelings, and instilling hope. Our findings dispel the myth that MBI outcomes are exclusively the result of mindfulness meditation practice, and suggest that social common factors may account for much of the effects of these interventions. Further research on meditation should take into consideration the effects of social context and other common therapeutic factors.

Error processing and mindfulness meditation in female students.

Mindfulness seems to have an impact on error processing in simple response tasks, as former studies reported both an effect of mindfulness meditation on, as well as relationships to trait mindfulness with behavioral and neural correlates of error processing. However, the results of these studies showed no consistent pattern. To dismantle some of these findings, this study investigated the impact in female students of a four-week, smartphone-based mindfulness training program (N = 22) in comparison with an active control group that did progressive muscle relaxation (PMR; N = 20). In addition to behavioral data, two error-related components of the event-related potential were measured with electroencephalogram while performing a combination of a modified Simon task and an error detection paradigm, namely error-related negativity and error positivity. Mindfulness meditation did not have a differential effect on error components in comparison to PMR. For both, we found a reduction of stress symptoms, an increase in mindfulness and an increase in error positivity.

Gender differences in response to a school-based mindfulness training intervention for early adolescents.

Mindfulness training has been used to improve emotional wellbeing in early adolescents. However, little is known about treatment outcome moderators, or individual differences that may differentially impact responses to treatment. The current study focused on gender as a potential moderator for affective outcomes in response to school-based mindfulness training. Sixth grade students (N = 100) were randomly assigned to either the six weeks of mindfulness meditation or the active control group as part of a history class curriculum. Participants in the mindfulness meditation group completed short mindfulness meditation sessions four to five times per week, in addition to didactic instruction (Asian history). The control group received matched experiential activity in addition to didactic instruction (African history) from the same teacher with no meditation component. Self-reported measures of emotional wellbeing/affect, mindfulness, and self-compassion were obtained at pre and post intervention. Meditators reported greater improvement in emotional wellbeing compared to those in the control group. Importantly, gender differences were detected, such that female meditators reported greater increases in positive affect compared to females in the control group, whereas male meditators and control males displayed equivalent gains. Uniquely among females but not males, increases in self-reported self-compassion were associated with improvements in affect. These findings support the efficacy of school-based mindfulness interventions, and interventions tailored to accommodate distinct developmental needs of female and male adolescents.