Does Personality Moderate the Effects of Mindfulness Training for Medical and Psychology Students?

Abstract

The majority of mindfulness research to date has reported only on the group-level effects of interventions. Therefore, there is a need to better understand who is most likely to benefit from mindfulness interventions. This study reports on moderation analyses from a two-centre randomised controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) among 288 medical and psychology students. The study investigated whether baseline personality factors (neuroticism, conscientiousness and extroversion) and baseline mindfulness moderated effects on mental distress, study stress and subjective well-being measured after the intervention. An increased effect of the intervention on mental distress and subjective well-being was found in students with higher scores on neuroticism. Students with higher scores on conscientiousness showed an increased effect of mindfulness training on study stress. The training protected students against an increase in mental distress and study stress and a decrease in subjective well-being that was seen in the control group. Baseline mindfulness and extroversion did not moderate the effects of the intervention on the outcomes. The majority of the 288 medical and psychology students in the study sample were female. Female participants scored significantly higher on neuroticism and conscientiousness, and they may therefore be an important target group for mindfulness interventions among students.

The Efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Interventions in Primary Care: A Meta-Analytic Review

“…Intervention vs AC Combined Combined Plews-Ogan et al, 37 2005 Combined C ombined C ombined Van Ravesteijn et al, 35 2013 Intervention vs AC Combined Combined de Vibe and Moum, 39 2006 Intervention vs PC Combined Posttest Mental Health Intervention: n = 295 Control: n = 234…”

“…Intervention vs AC Combined Combined Plews-Ogan et al, 37 2005 Combined C ombined C ombined Van Ravesteijn et al, 35 2013 Intervention vs AC Combined Combined de Vibe and Moum, 39 observed a moderate effect size when comparing MBIs with wait list controls, but this effect was small when compared with active controls, and even smaller when including psychotherapy. The authors concluded that MBIs did not differ from cognitive behavior therapies or pharmacotherapy.…”

Exploring the Role of Mindfulness as a Potential Self-Management Strategy for Physiotherapy Students when on Clinical Placement

“…No negative effects of mindfulness were reported, but some individuals found it more effective than others. De Vibe et al (2015) explored whether certain personalities are more likely to benefit from mindfulness interventions. They conducted a randomised controlled trial of mindfulness-based stress reduction on 288 medical and psychology students.…”

Psychological distress, burnout and personality traits in Dutch anaesthesiologists

“…6 Standardised programmes such as Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction have also proved to benefit personality traits of neuroticism. 7 Determining the differentiated influence of these psychological traits and processes in explaining anaesthetists' stress outcomes is a key step in the development of interventions to improve stress and burnout management. Therefore, in future studies of burnout in anaesthetists, mindfulness and self-compassion traits should be evaluated.…”

“…5 Also people experience personal growth and develop during their professional life, but the ease in which they naturally adopt stress-relieving strategies or learn psychological means to regulate stress will be dependent on the type of person they are to begin with. 6,7 So individual susceptibility remains an important factor in the development of burnout. Of course, as an instrument of selection, the 'Big Five' personality trait model may be too general to use in the selection of future anaesthesiologists, let alone exclude them from the training programme.…”