Association of mindfulness with psychological distress and life satisfaction in Western and Eastern meditators

Somaraju, LH; Temple, EC; Bizo, LA; Cocks, B

Association of mindfulness with psychological distress and life satisfaction in Western and Eastern meditators

Somaraju, LH Temple, EC Bizo, LA Cocks, B

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Publisher:: Taylor and Francis
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Australian Journal of Psychology, 2021, 73, (4), pp. 486-498
Issue Date:: 2021-01-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Somaraju, LH
dc.contributor.author	Temple, EC
dc.contributor.author	Bizo, LA
dc.contributor.author	Cocks, B
dc.date.accessioned	2021-12-24T03:33:18Z
dc.date.available	2021-12-24T03:33:18Z
dc.date.issued	2021-01-01
dc.identifier.citation	Australian Journal of Psychology, 2021, 73, (4), pp. 486-498
dc.identifier.issn	0004-9530
dc.identifier.issn	1742-9536
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/152511
dc.description.abstract	Objective: This study investigated if meditators living in India (Eastern Meditators: EMs) differed from those living in Western countries (WMs) in self-reported levels of mindfulness, depression, anxiety, stress, and life satisfaction and the association between these variables. Method: The 229 participants (18–81 years, M = 34.7 years, SD = 13.3; 52% EMs) completed scales measuring depression, anxiety, stress, life satisfaction, and mindfulness and its components. Results: WMs indicated significantly higher levels of acceptance and non-judging than EMs, but similar levels of mindful attention. For EMs, mindful attention was negatively associated with acceptance and non-judging, while for WMs these variables were not associated. WMs reported lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress than EMs but the groups did not differ in levels of life satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses showed that, for both WMs and EMs, acceptance explained significant proportions of the variance in depression, anxiety, and stress. Acceptance and non-judging explained significant proportions of the variance in life satisfaction for WMs, but only mindful attention did so for EMs. Conclusions: Results suggest that Western and Eastern conceptualisations of mindfulness and associated meditation practices may differ in critical ways. There is a need to develop valid mindfulness scales for use in Eastern collectivist cultures.
dc.language	en
dc.publisher	Taylor and Francis
dc.relation.ispartof	Australian Journal of Psychology
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1080/00049530.2021.1993085
dc.rights	This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article Published by Taylor & Francis in Journal title: Australian Journal of Psychology Article title: Consideration of spatial heterogeneity in landslide susceptibility mapping using geographical random forest model Published on: 01 Jan 2021 available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00049530.2021.1993085
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1701 Psychology, 1702 Cognitive Sciences
dc.subject.classification	Social Psychology
dc.title	Association of mindfulness with psychological distress and life satisfaction in Western and Eastern meditators
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	73
utslib.for	1701 Psychology
utslib.for	1702 Cognitive Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
pubs.consider-herdc	false
dc.date.updated	2021-12-24T03:33:18Z
pubs.issue	4
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	73
utslib.citation.issue	4

Abstract:

Objective: This study investigated if meditators living in India (Eastern Meditators: EMs) differed from those living in Western countries (WMs) in self-reported levels of mindfulness, depression, anxiety, stress, and life satisfaction and the association between these variables. Method: The 229 participants (18–81 years, M = 34.7 years, SD = 13.3; 52% EMs) completed scales measuring depression, anxiety, stress, life satisfaction, and mindfulness and its components. Results: WMs indicated significantly higher levels of acceptance and non-judging than EMs, but similar levels of mindful attention. For EMs, mindful attention was negatively associated with acceptance and non-judging, while for WMs these variables were not associated. WMs reported lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress than EMs but the groups did not differ in levels of life satisfaction. Multiple regression analyses showed that, for both WMs and EMs, acceptance explained significant proportions of the variance in depression, anxiety, and stress. Acceptance and non-judging explained significant proportions of the variance in life satisfaction for WMs, but only mindful attention did so for EMs. Conclusions: Results suggest that Western and Eastern conceptualisations of mindfulness and associated meditation practices may differ in critical ways. There is a need to develop valid mindfulness scales for use in Eastern collectivist cultures.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/152511