26/10/23, 22:24 Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies - ScienceDirect

Clinical Psychology Review

Volume 31, Issue 6, August 2011, Pages 1041-1056

Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A

review of empirical studies ☆
Shian-Ling Keng a , Moria J. Smoski b, Clive J. Robins a b

Show more

Share Cite

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006
Get rights and content

Abstract

Within the past few decades, there has been a surge of interest in the investigation of mindfulness as a
psychological construct and as a form of clinical intervention. This article reviews the empirical literature on
the effects of mindfulness on psychological health. We begin with a discussion of the construct of
mindfulness, differences between Buddhist and Western psychological conceptualizations of mindfulness,
and how mindfulness has been integrated into Western medicine and psychology, before reviewing three
areas of empirical research: cross-sectional, correlational research on the associations between mindfulness
and various indicators of psychological health; intervention research on the effects of mindfulness-oriented
interventions on psychological health; and laboratory-based, experimental research on the immediate
effects of mindfulness inductions on emotional and behavioral functioning. We conclude that mindfulness
brings about various positive psychological effects, including increased subjective well-being, reduced
psychological symptoms and emotional reactivity, and improved behavioral regulation. The review ends
with a discussion on mechanisms of change of mindfulness interventions and suggested directions for
future research.

Research highlights
► Mindfulness refers to attending to experience on purpose and non-judgmentally. ► Trait mindfulness
and meditation practice correlate with psychological well-being. ► Mindfulness intervention programs
reduce psychological symptoms and distress. ► Mindfulness instructions reduce emotional reactivity in
laboratory studies. ► Mechanisms of mindfulness' effects need to be a focus of future studies.

Section snippets

Relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological health

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027273581100081X?via%3Dihub 1/5
26/10/23, 22:24 Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies - ScienceDirect

Many studies of mindfulness to date have reported on correlations between self-reported mindfulness and
psychological health. Such correlations have been reported for samples of undergraduate students (e.g., Baer
et al., 2006, Brown and Ryan, 2003), community adults (e.g., Brown and Ryan, 2003, Chadwick et al., 2008)
and clinical populations (e.g., Baer et al., 2004, Chadwick et al., 2008, Walach et al., 2006). Before going over
these findings, it may be helpful to review questionnaires that…

Controlled studies of mindfulness-oriented interventions

Several mindfulness-oriented interventions have been developed and received much research attention
within the past two decades, including MBSR, MBCT, DBT and ACT. Some research on these interventions has
been uncontrolled and some has focused primarily on physical health outcomes. In this section, we limit our
review to published, peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials (RCTs) that assessed psychological health
outcomes in adult populations. Some other promising interventions have also…

Laboratory research on immediate effects of mindfulness interventions

In addition to correlational and clinical intervention research on mindfulness, a third line of empirical
research has examined the immediate effects of brief mindfulness interventions in controlled laboratory
settings on a variety of emotion-related processes, including recovery from dysphoric mood, emotional
reactivity to aversive or emotionally provocative stimuli, and willingness to return to or persist on an
unpleasant task. Such laboratory studies have the advantage of more easily…

Mechanisms of effects of mindfulness interventions

The studies reviewed so far indicate that measures of mindful awareness are related to various indices of
psychological health and that mindfulness interventions have a positive impact on psychological health. The
next natural question, then, is how this impact comes about. Several psychological processes, some of which
may overlap, have been proposed as potential mediators of the beneficial effects of mindfulness
interventions, including increases in mindful awareness, reperceiving (also known …

Understanding and quantification of mindfulness

Because mindfulness is a construct that originates in Buddhism, and has only a brief history in Western
psychological science, it is unsurprising that there is considerable challenge in defining, operationalizing,
and quantifying it (Grossman, 2008). Although a number of self-report inventories have been developed to
assess mindfulness, they vary greatly in content and factor structure, reflecting a lack of agreement on the
meaning and nature of mindfulness (Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007).…

Conclusion

Based on an examination of empirical literature across multiple methodologies, this review concludes that
mindfulness and its cultivation facilitates adaptive psychological functioning. Despite existing
methodological limitations within each body of literature, there is a clear convergence of findings from
correlational studies, clinical intervention studies, and laboratory-based, experimental studies of
mindfulness—all of which suggest that mindfulness is positively associated with…

Recommended articles

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027273581100081X?via%3Dihub 2/5
26/10/23, 22:24 Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies - ScienceDirect

References (205)

B.K. Anand et al.

Some aspects of electroencephalographic studies in yogis
Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology (1961)

J.J. Arch et al.

Mechanisms of mindfulness: Emotion regulation following a focused breathing induction
Behaviour Research and Therapy (2006)

T. Barnhofer et al.
Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy as a treatment for chronic depression: A preliminary study
Behaviour Research and Therapy (2009)

H. Benson et al.
Decreased blood pressure in pharmacologically treated hypertensive patients who regularly
elicited the relaxation response
Lancet (1974)

G. Bondolfi et al.
Depression relapse prophylaxis with Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy: Replication and
extension in the Swiss health care system
Journal of Affective Disorders (2010)

L. Campbell-Sills et al.
Effects of suppression and acceptance on emotional responses of individuals with anxiety and
mood disorders
Behaviour Research and Therapy (2006)

J. Carmody et al.
Mindfulness, spirituality, and health-related symptoms
Journal of Psychosomatic Research (2008)

R. Chambers et al.
Mindful emotion regulation: An integrative review
Clinical Psychology Review (2009)

A. Chiesa et al.
Mindfulness based cognitive therapy for psychiatric disorders: A systematic review and meta-
analysis
Psychiatry Research (2011)

M. Dekeyser et al.
Mindfulness skills and interpersonal behaviour
Personality and Individual Differences (2008)

View more references

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027273581100081X?via%3Dihub 3/5
26/10/23, 22:24 Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies - ScienceDirect

Cited by (1432)

“You don't have to perform for the trees”: The longer-term effects of nature-based interventions
on wellbeing
2023, Wellbeing, Space and Society

Show abstract

A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy for body dysmorphic

disorder: Impact on core symptoms, emotion dysregulation, and executive functioning
2023, Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry

Show abstract

A sequential mediation model of perceived social support, mindfulness, perceived hope, and
mental health literacy: An empirical study on Taiwanese university students
2023, Acta Psychologica

Show abstract

Feasibility and efficacy of an at-home, smart-device aided mindfulness program in people with
Multiple Sclerosis
2023, Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders

Show abstract

Impact of intolerance of uncertainty on well-being during COVID-19 pandemic in India: Does

practising gratitude and mindfulness help?
2023, IIMB Management Review

Show abstract

Serum melatonin and serotonin levels in long-term skilled meditators

2023, Explore

Show abstract

View all citing articles on Scopus

☆ We gratefully acknowledge M. Zachary Rosenthal, Mark Leary, Jeffrey Brantley, and Kathleen Sikkema for their helpful
comments on an earlier version of this manuscript.

View full text

Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027273581100081X?via%3Dihub 4/5
26/10/23, 22:24 Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies - ScienceDirect

All content on this site: Copyright © 2023 Elsevier B.V., its licensors, and contributors. All rights are reserved, including those for text and data mining, AI training, and similar
technologies. For all open access content, the Creative Commons licensing terms apply.

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S027273581100081X?via%3Dihub 5/5