A Study On The Mechanism Of Mindfulness-based Intervention Impacting On Aggression In The First Year Of High School Students:The Mediating Roles Of Dispositional Mindfulness,Emotion Dysregulation,and Self-control

Mindfulness is defined in psychology as both a psychological trait and an intervention.Previous studies have proved emotion only dysregulation or self-control as a partial mediator in the relationship between mindfulness and aggression.However,the possible multiple serial mediating roles of emotion dysregulation and self-control on the relationship of mindfulness and aggression were unclear.This study aims at understanding the effect and mechanism of mindfulness-based intervention(MBI)on aggression in high school students.A cross-sectional survey design was used.For this study,632 senior students were recruited from a middle school in southwest China.Participants completed demographic variables questionnaire,a Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire,a Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire,Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale,and a Chinese short version of the Self-Control Scale.Eighty participants were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group.The intervention group received a mindfulnessbased intervention for eight weeks,whereas the control group took the original curriculum.All participants filled a questionnaire before and after the intervention.The questionnaire was comprised of socio-demographic variables,Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire(FFMQ),Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire(BPAQ),Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale(DERS),and Self-Control Scale(SAS).From the questionnaire,we found that this study indicates that(1)high school students’ dispositional mindfulness was negatively associated with aggression and emotion dysregulation but positively associated with self-control.There is a positive association between emotion dysregulation and aggression,but a negative association between self-control and aggression in high school students.(2)Mediating effect analysis revealed that emotion dysregulation and self-control play complete mediating roles in dispositional mindfulness impacted aggression.Aggression is indirectly affected through three pathways – the single mediating effect of emotion dysregulation,self-control,and the mediating chain of emotion dysregulation and self-control.These three mediating ways account for 96.34%of the total impact of mindfulness on aggression.We found that the intervention group and the control group showed no significant differences in the studied parameters at baseline through the data from pre-test and posttest of the intervention group and control group.Repeated measures ANOVA for dispositional mindfulness,emotion dysregulation,self-control,aggression,and its facets showed significant differences over time(pre-test and post-test)× group(intervention group and control group).In addition,a model designed based on structural equation model(SEM)analysis,showed a good fit for analyzed data [χ2/df = 1.47,RMSEA(95%CI)= 0.077,CFI = 0.955,TLI = 0.927,GFI = 0.913 SRMR = 0.067].ΔFFMQ,ΔDERS,and ΔSAS caused a decrease in aggression for mindfulness-based intervention.MBI intervention can indirectly affect aggression through five pathways.In summary,we conclude that neither dispositional mindfulness nor mindfulnessbased intervention has a direct effect on aggression in high school students in this study.Instead,it is mediated by self-control and emotion dysregulation that are associated with aggression.