Experiential Avoidance as Mechanism of Mindfulness Based Online Intervention in Reducing Emotional Distress
Condition: Emotional Distress
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      This study hopes to explore whether experiential avoidance could be a mediator between
      mindfulness-based interventions and emotional distress.
    

Detailed description: 
      The improvement of emotional distress by mindfulness intervention has been supported by a
      large number of empirical studies. For example, the meta-analysis of the effect of MBSR on
      people with chronic diseases shows that both anxiety (Hedges' g = 0.47) and depression
      (Hedges' g = 0.26) in mindfulness intervention group are reduced. Mindfulness-based
      interventions also have good intervention effect on anxiety (Hedges' g = 0.67) and depression
      (Hedges' g = 0.48) in the general population. Unfortunately, few studies have used the
      correct methods to test the mechanism of mindfulness-based interventions in mediation
      analysis or experiments.

      Experiential avoidance refers to the unwillingness to keep in touch with specific personal
      experiences (such as physical feelings, emotions, thinking, memory, and behavioral
      tendencies), and to take measures to change the form or frequency of these experiences, as
      well as the situations that trigger these experiences. Experiential avoidance often has only
      a short-term effect, but it has no effect in the long run, and may even be unfavorable. The
      paradox of experiential avoidance is that trying to hide or suppress unpleasant thoughts,
      feelings and physical feelings will increase the frequency and pain of these same
      experiences, and will enhance the feeling that they are unreal or out of touch with
      themselves. In addition, long-term experiential avoidance will interfere with the fun of
      being completely immersed in any activity, leading to the reduction of the frequency of
      positive events and the suppression of positive emotions.

      Some reviews believe that experiential avoidance is one of the mechanisms of beneficial
      effects brought by mindfulness. Some cross-sectional studies show that the reduction of
      empirical avoidance is an important intermediary factor in the path of mindfulness to
      psychopathology . However, no research has directly tested the mediating role of experiential
      avoidance in mindfulness-based intervention to alleviate emotional distress, which is also
      the problem that this study wants to explore. According to Kazdin(2007), in order to prove
      the timeline principle, that is, the change of experiential avoidance is before the change of
      emotional distress, we will measure the above variables every week during the intervention.
    

Intervention name(s): Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress
Intervention type(s): Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress (MIED) program provide standard audio instructions for mindfulness exercises, introduce the nature and law of anxiety, depression and other emotions, the source of anxiety, depression and other emotional distress, and the strategies and methods to alleviate emotional distress. These exercises, knowledge and strategies are based on the latest progress in the field of psychological counseling and treatment, and their application in daily life can help alleviate anxiety, depression and other emotional problems.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Treatment