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Ecological momentary assessment of mechanisms of change during a mindfulness-based intervention for adolescents exposed to chronic stressors

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dc.contributor.authorMiller, Reagan L., author
dc.contributor.authorLucas-Thompson, Rachel, advisor
dc.contributor.authorShomaker, Lauren, advisor
dc.contributor.authorHaddock, Shelley, committee member
dc.contributor.authorPrince, Mark, committee member
dc.date.accessioned2023-08-28T10:29:13Z
dc.date.available2025-08-28T10:27:54Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractAdolescents exposed to chronic stressors (e.g., financial instability) are at heightened risk for developing mental health problems. Chronic stressors may contribute to greater mental health problems by interfering with adolescents' ability to effectively regulate emotions. According to the mindfulness stress buffering hypothesis, mindfulness acts as a buffer against the deleterious effects of life stressors by ameliorating maladaptive stress appraisals and by improving emotion regulation. However, an assumption of this hypothesis is that individuals can maintain mindfulness and regulate their emotions during periods of stress. These two papers explore this assumption by first investigating the real-time, dynamic relationship between life stressors, mindfulness, and emotion regulation difficulties (Study 1) and then by exploring if mindfulness training may help to ameliorate the negative effects of life stressors on mindfulness and emotion regulation (Study 2). Eighty-one participants who were 10-18 years of age (Mage=13.75 years, SD=2.17; 56% male; 57% Caucasian; 24% Hispanic/Latino; 7% Native American; 7% more than race; and 5% Asian/Pacific Islander or Black/African American) completed ecological momentary assessments (EMA) three times a day for seven days at three different intervals (baseline, mid-intervention and post-intervention) throughout the study, contributing to a total of 3,178 EMA reports. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that the presence (versus absence) of stressors and the greater severity of stressors both were associated with lower mindfulness and greater emotion regulation difficulties concurrently in the same moment, but not prospectively from one moment to the next. In other words, life stressors may only be more immediately associated with lower mindfulness and greater emotion regulation difficulties as short-term, delayed effects from one moment (T1) to the next moment (T2) were not observed. Also, mindfulness training, compared to an active control group, was protective at post-intervention against the negative (concurrent) effects of stressors on mindfulness and emotion regulation (Study 2). Findings highlight that adolescents' life stressors may degrade untrained mindfulness and emotion regulation at given moments, but mindfulness training may help to buffer against these negative impacts of life stressors. Going forward, it will be helpful to investigate these relationships in the context of mental and physical health outcomes and to include longer periods of follow-up to determine the sustainable benefits of mindfulness training for adolescent health.
dc.format.mediumborn digital
dc.format.mediumdoctoral dissertations
dc.identifierMiller_colostate_0053A_17808.pdf
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/10217/237004
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherColorado State University. Libraries
dc.relation.ispartof2020-
dc.rightsCopyright and other restrictions may apply. User is responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. For information about copyright law, please see https://libguides.colostate.edu/copyright.
dc.rights.accessEmbargo expires: 08/28/2025.
dc.subjectEMA
dc.subjectmindfulness
dc.subjectadolescents
dc.subjectmindfulness-based intervention
dc.subjectemotion regulation
dc.titleEcological momentary assessment of mechanisms of change during a mindfulness-based intervention for adolescents exposed to chronic stressors
dc.typeText
dcterms.embargo.expires2025-08-28
dcterms.embargo.terms2025-08-28
dcterms.rights.dplaThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights (https://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/). You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
thesis.degree.disciplineHuman Development and Family Studies
thesis.degree.grantorColorado State University
thesis.degree.levelDoctoral
thesis.degree.nameDoctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)

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