Mindfulness, Sustained Attention and Post-Traumatic Stress in Tsunami Survivors.
Mindfulness embodies present moment awareness and emotional acceptance. As defined by Kabat-Zinn, mindfulness is paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and non-judgmentally. Mindfulness can encompass different meditation practices and cognitive skills, including skills involving attention regulation and response inhibition.
Linear regressions adjusted for gender, age and years of education, did not show any significant associations between the five factors of mindfulness and number of omission errors in the disaster-exposed group, but a strong negative association between the factor of non-reacting and number of omission errors in the control group
The strong negative association between the nonreacting aspect of mindfulness and number of omission errors found in the control group but not in the disaster-exposed group
is interesting. There was also a weaker negative association between the non-judging aspect of mindfulness and number of omission errors found in the control group but not in the disaster exposed group. Whether there is an association between mindfulness and sustained attention in disaster survivors with increased levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms is of interest.
Our subjects are non-clinical but disaster-exposed.
The observing aspect of mindfulness indicates the tendency by which an individual
observes his/her inner life and surroundings. The describing aspect indicates the ability of an individual to describe his/her feelings. The acting with awareness aspect indicates the tendency
of an individual to act with awareness rather than distraction.
Psychol Cogn Sci Open J. 2016; 2(2): 54-63. doi: 10.17140/PCSOJ-2-115
