The Role of Mindfulness and Psychological Flexibility in Somatization, Depression, Anxiety, and General Psychological Distress in a Nonclinical College Sample
Open Access
- 11 October 2011
- journal article
- Published by SAGE Publications in Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine
- Vol. 17 (1), 66-71
- https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587211423400
Abstract
The current study investigated whether mindfulness and psychological flexibility uniquely and separately accounted for variability in psychological distress (somatization, depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress). An ethnically diverse, nonclinical sample of college undergraduates (N = 494, 76% female) completed a Web-based survey that included the self-report measures of interest. Consistent with prior research, psychological flexibility and mindfulness were positively associated with each other, and tested separately, both variables were negatively associated with somatization, depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress. Results also revealed that psychological flexibility and mindfulness accounted for unique variance in all 4 measures of distress. These findings suggest that mindfulness and psychological flexibility are interrelated but not redundant constructs and that both constructs are important for understanding the onset and maintenance of somatization, depression, anxiety, and general distress.Keywords
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