An empirical study of the mechanisms of mindfulness in a mindfulness‐based stress reduction program
Journal of Clinical Psychology March 6, 2009 James Carmody, Ruth A. Baer, Emily L. B. Lykins et al. 528 citations
A theory proposes that mindfulness training works by changing how people relate to their experiences, a process called reperceiving, which then improves self-regulation, values clarity, mental flexibility, and exposure to experiences, leading to better health. Testing this with participants in a mindfulness-based stress-reduction program did not support that changes in reperceiving alone explained how mindfulness affected those four factors. However, when mindfulness and reperceiving scores were combined, there was partial support that those four factors helped reduce psychological distress. The text discusses difficulties in measuring these concepts.