Mindfulness deficits in a sample of substance abuse treatment seeking adults: a descriptive investigation

Mindfulness is increasingly being recognized as an important correlate of mental health, and is inversely corelated with substance use. To date, preliminary research suggests that mindfulness-based interventions may be effective for the treatment of substance use disorders. However, there is a notable lack of research on deficits in mindfulness among individuals who seek residential substance abuse treatment, including whether they report lower levels of mindfulness relative to healthy controls. Thus, the current study examined differences in mindfulness between a sample of adult substance abusers who sought residential treatment (N = 107) and normative data on mindfulness from healthy adults. Results demonstrated that the substance abusers reported less mindfulness relative to the normative data, including lower levels of mindful curiosity and decentering, with effect sizes differences between groups falling into the large range. No differences were evident in mindfulness between men and women patients or between individuals with an alcohol or drug diagnosis. These results provide evidence that substance abusers seeking treatment may have lower levels of mindfulness relative to healthy adults, supporting the use of mindfulness-based interventions with this population.