| This quasi-experimental psychotherapy outcome study assessed the effects of participation in an 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) intervention on rumination, psychological distress, and medical symptoms. Members of ongoing MBSR groups at 3 San Francisco Bay Area hospitals volunteered to participate. A heterogeneous sample composed of 32 adults (21 women and 11 men) ages 20-71 completed pre- and post-intervention measures including the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) (K. W. Brown & R. M. Ryan, 2003), the Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18) (L. R. Derogatis, 2001), the Short Response Style Questionnaire (SRSQ) (W. Treynor, R. Gonzalez, & S. Nolen-Hoeksema, 2003), and the Medical Symptom Checklist (MSCL) (J. W. Travis, 1971). This research was intended to replicate and extend aspects of J. Kabat-Zinn's work on MBSR and S. Nolen-Hoeksema's work on rumination.;Results revealed significant reductions in rumination***, depression**, anxiety**, psychological distress**, and medical symptoms*** and a significant increase in mindfulness**. Findings showed significant positive correlations between rumination and depression* and significant negative correlations between mindfulness and rumination**, anxiety***, psychological distress*, and medical symptoms**. Rumination significantly mediated the effects of mindfulness on depression*. (One asterisk* indicates p < .05, two asterisks** indicate p < .01, and three asterisks*** indicate p < .001.).;Findings support S. L. Shapiro, L. E. Carlson, J. A. Astin, and B. Freedman's (2006) recent proposal that mindfulness is a central feature of MBSR and is partially responsible for the positive outcomes observed in the MBSR program. This study also provides a novel contribution to the literature by specifying and significantly demonstrating the mediational path between mindful awareness and decreases in rumination and depression in a heterogeneous community sample. The implications of this finding elucidate one of the potential therapeutic mechanisms of mindfulness. |
