The Effect of Attentional Control, Mindfulness, and Decentering on Worrying

Abstract

Mindfulness training (MT) is growing in popularity as an intervention for generalized anxiety disorders and worry. Theoretical studies suggest that the effectiveness of MT may be mediated by attentional control, mindful awareness, and decentering. However, research has not explicitly examined how these possible mediators predict worrying. We conducted Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) with cross sectional data (N=376). We compared multiple models and found that models which used attentional control as an exogenous variable had a better fit than those using it as a mediator. Moreover, SEM revealed that the effect of attentional control on worry was completely mediated by enhancing dispositional mindfulness and decentering. These results suggest that the working mechanism of MT for decreasing worry involves increased attentional control as the chief vehicle for bringing about alternative ways to relate to one's internal process (mindfulness and decentering), which in turn leads to ameliorated worrying.