Reappraisal and savoring as mediators of the effect of informal mindfulness practice on well-being

• Main Author: TAN, Yan Qiang
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Institutional Knowledge at Singapore Management University 2019
• Subjects: Mindfulness; well-being; positive reappraisal; savoring; optimism; mediator; moderator; experience sampling; multilevel; Mental and Social Health; Personality and Social Contexts; Social Welfare
• Online Access: https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/etd_coll/220; https://ink.library.smu.edu.sg/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1220&context=etd_coll
• Institution: Singapore Management University

Although extensive research has been conducted on the effects of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs), the processes through which MBIs affects well-being are still unclear. Furthermore, most of the current mindfulness research has focused on formal mindfulness practice. I aim to contribute to the field by studying the effects of informal mindfulness practice delivered through a mobile application in a two-week experience sampling study. Well-being was examined at three levels: immediately after completing an informal mindfulness exercise, at the end-of-the-day, and retrospective assessments of the two-week intervention period. I examined two possible mediators of the effect of the MBI on well-being: reappraisal and savoring. I also tested optimism as a moderator that may explain why people may benefit in varying degrees from mindfulness practice. The MBI did not have an effect on immediate and retrospective well-being but did affect end-of-day wellbeing. The MBI had no effect on end-of-day and retrospective reappraisal and savoring. Optimism did not moderate the relationship between MBI and emotion regulation. Exploratory analyses showed that the MBI only increased state mindfulness for those with prior meditation experience, and that state mindfulness had effects on immediate and end-of-day well-being. At the retrospective level, reappraisal and savoring were found to mediate the relationship between the state mindfulness and mood, meaning, and stress.