Mindfulness Predicts Psycho-behavioral Improvement after Breast Cancer Diagnosis: Influence of Childhood Adversity

Mindfulness-based interventions provide psychological benefit after breast cancer diagnosis. The aims of this study were to determine whether within-person change in facets of mindfulness predict psycho-behavioral improvements in women with breast cancer, and to assess the influence of childhood adversity on those improvements. Women randomized to the mindfulness arm of a larger trial were evaluated. Psychometric instruments and the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire were completed pre-, mid-, at completion, one, and six months post program. A subsample completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that significant change in nonjudgment and nonreactivity to inner experience were associated with more rapid decrease in stress, depressive symptoms, fatigue, sleep disturbance, and more rapid increase in quality of life. For women with greater exposure to childhood adversity, a greater increase in nonreactivity to inner experience significantly associated with greater improvements in stress, depressive symptoms, and quality of life.