Chain mediation of rumination and anxiety state between mindfulness and depressed mood in infertile women.

In a cross-sectional study of 946 infertile women in western China, higher mindfulness was linked to lower depressed mood, both directly and indirectly through reduced rumination and anxiety. The total effect of mindfulness on depressed mood was -0.390; the direct path was -0.170, and indirect paths accounted for 56.4% of the total effect. A chain mediation path from mindfulness through rumination thinking and anxiety state to depressed mood was significant, with an effect of -0.075. Mindfulness appears to protect against depressed mood in infertile women partly by decreasing rumination and anxiety.

Study at a glance

Abstract

The study aims to explore the relationship between mindfulness, rumination thinking, anxiety state, and depressed mood, and the chain mediating roles of rumination thinking and anxiety state in explaining how mindfulness influences depressed mood in infertile women. This cross-sectional study included 946 women with infertility from a maternal and child hospital in western China through convenience sampling. Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Rumination Response Scale (RRS), Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) were measured as outcome indicators. SPSS PROCESS macro program was used to test for chained mediating effects and the significance using the Bootstrap method. The total effect of mindfulness on depressed mood was -0.390 with the direct path effect of -0.170. The total indirect path effect was -0.220, which accounted for 56.4% of the total effect, and that the chain mediated path (FFMQ→RRS→SAS→SDS) effect was significant with a mediation effect value of -0.075. Mindfulness can not only directly affect infertile women's depressed mood, but also indirectly affect that through the chain-mediated effects of rumination thinking and anxiety state.