Testing the mindfulness-to-meaning theory: Evidence for mindful positive emotion regulation from a reanalysis of longitudinal data

Abstract

Background and objective: The Mindfulness to Meaning Theory (MMT) provides a detailed process model of mindful positive emotion regulation. Design: We conducted a post-hoc reanalysis of longitudinal data (N = 107) derived from a RCT of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) versus cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for social anxiety disorder to model the core constructs of the MMT (attentional control, decentering, broadened awareness, reappraisal, and positive affect) in a multivariate path analysis. Results: Findings indicated that increases in attentional control from baseline to post-training predicted increases in decentering by 3 months post-treatment (p