For Whom Does Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Work? Moderating Effects of Personality

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Clinical Psychology
• Mindfulness Studies

Background:

• Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) is a widely used intervention for psychological stress.
• The moderating role of personality on MBSR outcomes requires further investigation.
• Understanding individual differences can optimize stress reduction interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the moderating effects of personality on changes in anxious and depressed mood following MBSR.
• To control for socio-demographic factors and baseline mood in the analysis.
• To identify personality traits associated with differential responses to MBSR.

Main Methods:

• Longitudinal study design with 167 participants (70% women, mean age 45.8 years) reporting psychological stress.
• Assessment of anxious and depressed mood before MBSR, immediately after, and at 3-month follow-up.
• Statistical analysis controlling for socio-demographic factors and baseline mood to examine personality moderation.

Main Results:

• Participants with high neuroticism showed significant decreases in anxious and depressed mood.
• After controlling for baseline mood, only the time by neuroticism interaction on anxiety remained significant.
• Higher neuroticism was associated with a smaller anxiety decrease pre- to post-intervention but a larger decrease post-intervention to follow-up, indicating delayed benefit.

Conclusions:

• Neuroticism moderates the time course of anxiety reduction in MBSR, with benefits emerging later for individuals high in this trait.
• Most personality factors did not significantly moderate mood changes when baseline mood was controlled.
• Findings suggest that personality, specifically neuroticism, influences the pattern of mood improvement in MBSR, with implications for intervention tailoring.