Mindful or Mind Full? Exploring the Associations Between Relationships, Mindfulness, and Stress

Description

Past research has indicated a relationship between attachment and mindfulness; however, less is known about the behavioural outcomes of this relationship. The purpose of the present study was to test a new, more in-depth structural model of the relationship between attachment and mindfulness, and further explore the effects of attachment and mindfulness session type (group or individual) on attendance and willingness to continue mindfulness. As predicted, both the self and other model of attachment were positively associated with mindfulness. Surprisingly, individuals who were initially interested in the follow up sessions reported significantly more negative models of others than individuals who were not interested. For the in-person sessions, no significant differences were found for participant attendance or willingness to continue based on attachment and/or type of session. The discussion of results highlights the importance of people’s view of others for developing mindfulness traits and developing strong client-provider relationships in therapeutic and intervention settings.
Author Keywords: Adult attachment, Mindfulness, Stress