Maximising benefit, minimising harm: how individual differences impact the effects of mindfulness meditation

Despite large interindividual differences in efficacy of Mindfulness-Based Interventions (MBIs), it is unknown for whom mindfulness is beneficial, for whom it may be harmful, and why this is the case. Therefore, and given the increasing popularity of mindfulness, personalised effects of mindfulness meditation are not only a timely subject for future research but also a general concern for public health. This project aims to investigate how individual differences play a role in the outcomes of mindfulness meditation by adressing two objectives. The first objective is to examine how potential moderating factors, including repetitive negative thinking (RNT), trauma symptoms, and a tendency to dissociate, influence the effect of mindfulness meditation on mental health and wellbeing. The second objective is to test whether mindfulness subprocesses, including awareness, non-judgment, and decentering, mediate the effect of mindfulness meditation on mental health and wellbeing. The objectives will be achieved via five studies: replicating a prior study reporting moderating effects of mindfulness meditation (study 1), conducting qualitative interviews to understand how meditators appraise meditation-related adverse effects (study 2), acquiring observational quantitative data from community, sub-clinical and clinical samples who undergo an MBI (study 3), conducting qualitative interviews in MBI participants (study 4), and testing effects of an experimental mindfulness intervention students (study 5).

This project has straightforward implications. On a theoretical level, this project will contribute to a model of how mindfulness affects change and uncover how effects of mindfulness vary based on individual differences. On a practical level, the project will identify (contra-)indications of mindfulness, thereby preventing adverse effects and improving treatment efficacy of MBIs.