Longitudinal associations between dispositional mindfulness and addictive behaviors in adolescents

Adolescence is a vulnerable period for the development of addictive behaviors, and substance use (SU) and problematic Internet use (PIU) typically start during this developmental stage. Dispositional Mindfulness (DM) has been proposed as a protective factor for adolescents against numerous psychological problems. Previous studies have suggested that the Observing facet of DM may moderate the other facets' roles. The objective of this study was to longitudinally analyze whether the facets of DM could predict lower levels of PIU and SU among adolescents, and to assess whether the Observing facet moderated the associations between the other facets of DM and addictive behaviors. A total of 836 participants aged 11 to 18 completed measures of PIU, SU, and the five facets of DM. The results indicated that Acting with Awareness predicted lower SU, Describing predicted an increase in both PIU and SU, and Non-judging marginally predicted lower PIU. Furthermore, Observing was beneficial against PIU when combined with high levels of Acting with Awareness, but was not when combined with high levels of Describing. The implications and future directions for the empirical study of DM against addictive behaviors are discussed.