Do You Mind? Examining the Impact of Psychoeducation Specificity on Perceptions of Mindfulness-Based Programs

Mindfulness-based programs (MBPs) cultivate the capacity for mindfulness, defined as nonjudgmental acceptance and awareness of present-moment experience. Mindfulness has been associated with a host of benefits for users, such as improved indices of mental well-being. We examined public perceptions of acceptability (i.e., how appropriate the treatment is for a given problem) and credibility (i.e., how logical and convincing a treatment seems) of MBPs as a form of mental health intervention. The main objective of this study was to examine whether higher specificity of psychoeducational content improved perceptions of the acceptability and credibility of MBPs.

Participants (n = 188; female% = 39.4) were recruited online and randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In one condition, participants received balanced and evidence-based psychoeducation specific to MBPs for mental health. In the other condition, participants received general information about psychological treatments for mental health. Acceptability and credibility perceptions were measured by questionnaires across time (pre-and post-psychoeducation) and across specificity conditions (specific vs. general psychoeducation).

Participants randomized to the general, but not the specific, psychoeducation-endorsed higher scores of acceptability of MBPs post-psychoeducation. Further, participants endorsed higher scores of MBP credibility post-psychoeducation, regardless of the specificity of psychoeducation provided.

Perceptions of the acceptability of MBPs were improved following exposure to general psychoeducation, and perceptions of the credibility of MBPs were improved following psychoeducation, regardless of specificity. Examining public perceptions of MBPs is important for informing strategies to support access to and use of MBPs.