Effects of a brief mindfulness intervention on negative affect and urge to drink among college student drinkers

Abstract

Several theories have proposed that negative affect (NA) plays a large role in the maintenance of substance use behaviors - a phenomenon supported in laboratory-based and clinical studies. It has been demonstrated that mindfulness meditation can improve the regulation of NA, suggesting that mindfulness may be very beneficial in treating problematic substance use behavior. The current study tested whether a brief mindfulness meditation would lower levels of NA, increase willingness to experience NA, lower urges to drink, and increase time to next alcoholic drink in a sample of at-risk college student drinkers (N = 207). Participants were randomized to one of three brief interventions (mindfulness, relaxation, or control) followed by an affect manipulation (negative or neutral stimuli). Affect and urge were measured prior to intervention (Time 1 [T1]), after intervention but prior to affect manipulation (Time 2 [T2]), and immediately after the affect manipulation (Time 3 [T3]). Levels of mindfulness and relaxation were assessed from T1-T3. The additional measures of willingness to continue watching NA images and time to next alcoholic drink were examined at T3. Results indicated that the mindfulness intervention increased state mindfulness and relaxation, and decreased NA immediately following the mindfulness intervention. However, the mindfulness intervention did not influence responses to NA induction on any of the outcome variables at T3. One potential explanation is that the mindfulness intervention was not robust enough to maintain the initial gains made immediately following the intervention.

Examination of trait impulsivity on the response to a brief mindfulness intervention among college student drinkers

“…Data presented in the current paper were collected from a larger study ( n = 207) examining the impact of a mood induction procedure following a brief mindfulness intervention on affect and urge to drink in at-risk college student drinkers (data from all 207 participants are used in the current analyses; see Vinci et al (2014) for details of full study). The primary outcome study presented findings on the differential effects of each intervention type on the stated outcomes following a mood induction procedure, and did not examine how trait impulsivity interacted with intervention type.…”

“…They were asked to do this with an attitude of acceptance and nonjudgment. A tape recording utilized by Adams et al (2013) was used in the present study (for a written transcript of these instructions, please see Vinci et al (2014)). Results from both Adams et al (2013) and Vinci et al (2014) demonstrated that participants who were guided through the mindfulness meditation significantly increased in state levels of mindfulness when compared to the groups that did not listen to the tape.…”

“…A tape recording utilized by Adams et al (2013) was used in the present study (for a written transcript of these instructions, please see Vinci et al (2014)). Results from both Adams et al (2013) and Vinci et al (2014) demonstrated that participants who were guided through the mindfulness meditation significantly increased in state levels of mindfulness when compared to the groups that did not listen to the tape. This mindfulness meditation was primarily adapted of selections from Kabat-Zinn (1994, 2002); the five facets of mindfulness (Baer et al, 2006a) were also integrated throughout the recording.…”

“…Mindfulness practices are rooted in taking a nonjudgmental stance towards difficult experiences (e.g., unpleasant affect, negative thoughts; Kabat-Zinn, 1994) and have been found to decrease levels of negative affect (Arch and Craske, 2006; Jain et al, 2007; Ortner et al, 2007; Tang et al, 2007; Vinci et al, 2014) and increase positive affect (Davidson et al, 2003; Jain et al, 2007; Tang et al, 2007). Even a very brief, 15-min mindfulness-based breathing induction assisted individuals in managing negative affect when compared to two control groups (Arch and Craske, 2006).…”

“…Together, these constructs suggest that managing emotion and attention are central aspects of impulsivity. Similarly, trait mindfulness is linked to both the regulation of emotion/affect and the control of attention that are hypothesized to be associated with impulsivity (Arch and Craske, 2006; Black et al, 2011; Davidson et al, 2003; Jain et al, 2007; Ortner et al, 2007; Slagter et al, 2007; Tang et al, 2007; Vinci et al, 2014). In fact, a recent theoretical model has proposed that mindfulness improves attention through two related processes – increased awareness of affect and acceptance of experiences (Teper et al, 2013).…”