Mindfulness moderates the relation between trauma and anxiety symptoms in college students
Justin D Tubbs1,2, Jeanne E Savage3, Amy E Adkins1,4
1a Department of Psychology , Virginia Commonwealth University , Richmond , Virginia , USA.
Objective:
To explore the relations between trauma exposure and anxiety and depression among college students, and to determine whether trait mindfulness may moderate these relations.
Participants:
Self-report survey data from 2,336 college sophomores were drawn from a larger university-wide study ("Spit for Science").
Methods:
We constructed multiple linear regression models using past-year trauma exposure, trait mindfulness, and their multiplicative interaction to predict current anxiety and depressive symptom severity, while controlling for covariates.
Results:
Mindfulness was associated with lower levels of depression and anxiety symptom severity. Trauma was a significant predictor of anxiety, but not depression, and high levels of mindfulness attenuated the association between trauma exposure and higher anxiety symptom severity.
Conclusions:
These results have implications for the treatment and prevention of anxiety among trauma-exposed college students and provide a basis for further research into the mechanisms through which mindfulness may facilitate positive mental health.
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