Doctorate in Clinical Psychology: Main Research Portfolio

: 1) Standardised measures of mindfulness practice quality: a systematic review; 2) Senior staff perceptions of trauma-informed care in an NHS mental health trust; 3) Does information about health benefits of mindfulness influence mindfulness attitudes, intentions and practice? An online experiment.

Abstract

With the benefits of mindfulness-based interventions well-established, an emerging direction for research is understanding factors which promote adherence to MBIs. While little clear evidence is available to support the use of existing adherence promotion strategies such as reminders, personalisation of content, or progress tracking, an alternative strategy which has received less attention is providing information about the health benefits of mindfulness.

This study aimed to understand whether providing such information (in narrative and statistical formats) could influence attitudes, intentions and motivation towards mindfulness, as well as practice adherence and downloading of a practice audio.

97 university students were randomised to receive mindfulness health benefit information or no information. They then had the opportunity to complete a guided practice (with adherence measured by duration on this page) and download this practice, alongside completing measures of attitudes, intentions, and motivation towards mindfulness practice.

Findings suggest that those who received the health benefit information reported more positive attitudes towards mindfulness practice, and greater intentions to practice in the next week. No advantage of health benefit information was found for motivation, practice adherence or downloading behaviour. Implications for practitioners and directions for future research are discussed.

Date of Award	20 Sept 2024
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	University of Bath
Supervisor	Paul Chadwick (Supervisor), Emma Hartley (Supervisor), Emma Griffith (Supervisor) & Chris Gillmore (Supervisor)