Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy
The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown have been widely recognized as traumatic events that pose threats to psychological well-being. Recent studies reported that during such traumatic events, women tend to be at greater risk than men for developing symptoms of stress, an...
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2021-05-01
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| Series: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/5512 |
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doaj-3cd8afcc10c3469e8e81ed981f553fb92021-06-01T00:40:51ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1661-78271660-46012021-05-01185512551210.3390/ijerph18115512Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in ItalyAlessandra Accoto0Salvatore Gaetano Chiarella1Antonino Raffone2Antonella Montano3Adriano de Marco4Francesco Mainiero5Roberta Rubbino6Alessandro Valzania7David Conversi8Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyA.T. Beck Institute, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyA.T. Beck Institute, 00185 Rome, ItalyA.T. Beck Institute, 00185 Rome, ItalyDepartment of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Rome, ItalyThe global pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown have been widely recognized as traumatic events that pose threats to psychological well-being. Recent studies reported that during such traumatic events, women tend to be at greater risk than men for developing symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Several studies reported that a mindfulness-based stress reduction protocol (MBSR) provides useful skills for dealing with traumatic events. In our study, a sample of Italian females received an 8-week MBSR course plus 6 weeks of video support for meditation practice during the first total lockdown in Italy. We assessed the participants with questionnaires before and after this period to investigate their mindfulness skills, psychological well-being, post-traumatic growth, and psychological flexibility. After the intervention, the meditators group reported improvement in measures associated with self-acceptance, purpose in life, and relation to others compared to the control group. Furthermore, our results showed that participants with greater mindfulness scores showed high levels of psychological flexibility, which in turn was positively associated with higher levels of psychological well-being. We concluded that the MBSR could support psychological well-being, at least in female subjects, even during an unpredictable adverse event, such as the COVID-19 lockdown, by reinforcing key psychological aspects.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/5512MBSRmindfulness meditationCOVID-19women’s mental healthwell-beingself-reports |
| collection |
DOAJ |
| language |
English |
| format |
Article |
| sources |
DOAJ |
| author |
Alessandra Accoto Salvatore Gaetano Chiarella Antonino Raffone Antonella Montano Adriano de Marco Francesco Mainiero Roberta Rubbino Alessandro Valzania David Conversi |
| spellingShingle |
Alessandra Accoto Salvatore Gaetano Chiarella Antonino Raffone Antonella Montano Adriano de Marco Francesco Mainiero Roberta Rubbino Alessandro Valzania David Conversi Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health MBSR mindfulness meditation COVID-19 women’s mental health well-being self-reports |
| author_facet |
Alessandra Accoto Salvatore Gaetano Chiarella Antonino Raffone Antonella Montano Adriano de Marco Francesco Mainiero Roberta Rubbino Alessandro Valzania David Conversi |
| author_sort |
Alessandra Accoto |
| title |
Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_short |
Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_full |
Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_fullStr |
Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_full_unstemmed |
Beneficial Effects of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Training on the Well-Being of a Female Sample during the First Total Lockdown Due to COVID-19 Pandemic in Italy |
| title_sort |
beneficial effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction training on the well-being of a female sample during the first total lockdown due to covid-19 pandemic in italy |
| publisher |
MDPI AG |
| series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
| issn |
1661-7827 1660-4601 |
| publishDate |
2021-05-01 |
| description |
The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 and the subsequent lockdown have been widely recognized as traumatic events that pose threats to psychological well-being. Recent studies reported that during such traumatic events, women tend to be at greater risk than men for developing symptoms of stress, anxiety, and depression. Several studies reported that a mindfulness-based stress reduction protocol (MBSR) provides useful skills for dealing with traumatic events. In our study, a sample of Italian females received an 8-week MBSR course plus 6 weeks of video support for meditation practice during the first total lockdown in Italy. We assessed the participants with questionnaires before and after this period to investigate their mindfulness skills, psychological well-being, post-traumatic growth, and psychological flexibility. After the intervention, the meditators group reported improvement in measures associated with self-acceptance, purpose in life, and relation to others compared to the control group. Furthermore, our results showed that participants with greater mindfulness scores showed high levels of psychological flexibility, which in turn was positively associated with higher levels of psychological well-being. We concluded that the MBSR could support psychological well-being, at least in female subjects, even during an unpredictable adverse event, such as the COVID-19 lockdown, by reinforcing key psychological aspects. |
| topic |
MBSR mindfulness meditation COVID-19 women’s mental health well-being self-reports |
| url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/5512 |
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