Mindfulness and clinical correlates in methamphetamine use disorder

Area of Science:

• Psychiatry
• Psychology
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Mindfulness-based interventions are increasingly utilized for substance use disorders, including methamphetamine use disorder (MUD).
• Trait mindfulness is hypothesized to influence the effectiveness of these interventions.
• No prior studies have compared trait mindfulness levels between individuals with MUD and healthy controls.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate trait mindfulness in individuals with MUD.
• To identify clinical correlates of trait mindfulness in MUD.

Main Methods:

• Compared trait mindfulness using the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) in 95 participants with MUD (abstinence <1 to 90 days) and 65 healthy controls.
• Assessed group differences and correlations between trait mindfulness and drug use, craving, and psychiatric symptoms.

Main Results:

• Participants with MUD showed 10% lower trait mindfulness than healthy controls (p < 0.001).
• Trait mindfulness was not significantly correlated with drug use or craving in the MUD group.
• Across both groups, trait mindfulness was negatively correlated with anxiety, depression, emotional dysregulation, impulsivity, and childhood trauma, and positively correlated with self-compassion (all ps < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• A deficit in trait mindfulness exists in individuals with MUD.
• This deficit represents a potential target for enhancing treatment outcomes with mindfulness-based therapies.
• Trait mindfulness is inversely associated with mood dysregulation.