Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: ExploringPathways to Adolescent Emotional Well-Being

University of Tennessee, Knoxville

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Doctoral Dissertations Graduate School

8-2012

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: Exploring

Pathways to Adolescent Emotional Well-Being

Karen Leslie Bluth

bluth@utk.edu

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Recommended Citation

Bluth, Karen Leslie, “Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: Exploring Pathways to Adolescent Emotional Well-Being. ” PhD diss.,

University of Tennessee, 2012.

hCps://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/1399

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To the Graduate Council:

I am submiCing herewith a dissertation wriCen by Karen Leslie Bluth entitled “Mindfulness and Self-

Compassion: Exploring Pathways to Adolescent Emotional Well-Being.” I have examined the Bnal

electronic copy of this dissertation for form and content and recommend that it be accepted in partial

fulBllment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, with a major in Child and Family

Studies.

Priscilla W. Blanton, Major Professor

We have read this dissertation and recommend its acceptance:

Brian K. Barber, John Orme, Robert G. Wahler

Accepted for the Council:

Dixie L. Aompson

Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School

(Original signatures are on Ble with o@cial student records.)

Mindfulness and Self-Compassion: Exploring Pathways to Adolescent Emotional Well-Being

A Dissertation

Presented for the

Doctor of Philosophy Degree

The University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Karen Leslie Bluth

August 2012

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Dedication

I dedicate this to my daughters, Mackenzie and India, who have inspired me to reach higher than

I thought I could attain; to my parents, Dave and Doris, who have supported me throughout my

education; and for Dale, who has helped me through every minute step in this arduous adventure,

from feeding me meals to fixing midnight computer glitches. May you all remember to always

treat yourselves with kindness and compassion.

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Acknowledgements

First, I would like to acknowledge my committee members. I wish to thank Dr. Priscilla

Blanton, chair of my dissertation committee, for her wisdom, guidance, sense of humor and

unflappable disposition. Her experience and insight made this process much less stressful than it

would have been otherwise. Dr. John Orme was always available for statistical guidance,

answering more emails than I would like to admit. I would also like to thank Dr. Brian Barber for

challenging me throughout this process, forcing me to take another look at my methods or data,

making sure I was considering all angles and addressing all potential issues. Dr. Bob Wahler

guided me through my first research project on mindfulness, which provided me with my first

solo experience collecting and analyzing data, and gave me the opportunity to become familiar

with the mindfulness literature.

I thank Dr. Mary Jane Moran for her friendship and insight, and for taking me under her

wing when I was a fledgling who didn’t know qualitative from quantitative data, or what APA

meant. It was a steep learning curve, and her patience and professionalism were always front and

center. Although I never had a class with him, Dr. Spencer Olmstead’s door was always open,

helping me through numerous questions about methodology or statistics.

Through our weekly “agraphia” group meetings at Panera, I received support and

friendship from my graduate student colleagues: Teri Henke, Swapna Purandare, Min-Jung Jung,

Juli Sams, and Carolyn Spellings. Sharing this experience with them helped me surmount the

many inevitable obstacles that come with a project such as this. I would also like to thank

Patricia Roberson for so readily sharing her knowledge about statistics and Mplus, and emailing

pdfs or websites that helped to address my questions.

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Last, but absolutely not least, I would like to thank the staff in the Child and Family

Studies office: Carole McDonald, Sonja Spell, Sandy Russell, Barbara Bright and Scarlett

Powell for their friendship and groundedness, reminding me that there was life outside my work,

and always being there to share stories. I will miss you!

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Abstract

Adolescents today are confronted with the compounded stressors of life in our high-

pressured society and the cognitive, physiological, and emotional changes that are characteristic

of this stage of development. As a result, they often struggle with self-doubt, leading to

depression, anxiety, and maladaptive trajectories. Mindfulness, or paying attention in the

moment in an intentional and purposeful way, has been reported to have positive effects on

emotional well-being in adults, and shows promise for similar results in recent research with

children and adolescents.

Moreover, the mechanisms through which being mindful achieves positive outcomes has

only recently been explored, and has not been investigated with adolescents. In this study, self-

compassion, defined by the three components of self-kindness, feeling part of a common

humanity, and maintaining perspective in challenging circumstances, was examined as a

potential mediator in the relationship between mindfulness and dimensions of emotional well-

being. Measures assessing mindfulness, self-compassion, positive and negative affect, life

satisfaction, and perceived stress comprised an online survey that was administered to 67

adolescents in an urban high school. Path analysis was utilized to investigate relationships among

the variables. An alternate model with self-compassion as the predictor and mindfulness as the

mediator was examined as well.

Results indicated that self-compassion functioned as a mediator in the relationship

between mindfulness and both negative affect and perceived stress, but not in the relationship

between mindfulness and positive affect or life satisfaction. In the exploration of the alternate

model, mindfulness mediated the relationship between self-compassion and negative affect, self-

compassion and life satisfaction, and self-compassion and perceived stress, but not between self-

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compassion and positive affect. Additionally, gender was found to moderate the relationship

between the variables. A theorized model was presented which depicts a reciprocal relationship

between mindfulness and self-compassion and describes an iterative process that takes place

between these two constructs, resulting in positive emotional well-being.

Implications for future research include a mindfulness intervention study in which

constructs are measured at three separate time points, clarifying direction of effects. Behavioral

outcomes can also be measured post-intervention. Moreover, the gender effect can be further

investigated by measuring these constructs with different populations.

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The faculty of voluntarily bringing back a wandering attention, over and over again, is the very

root of judgment, character, and will…An education which should improve this faculty would be

the education par excellence. — William James, The Principles of Psychology (1890)

It is not necessary for a crow to become an eagle. — Sitting Bull

You can’t be compassionate with others unless you’re first compassionate with yourself.

— Dr. Jerry Murphy, former dean of Harvard School of Education

(presentation at International Symposia for Contemplative Studies, April 28, 2012)

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Table of Contents

Chapter 1 – Background………………………………………………………………………………………….. 1

Introduction………………………………………………………………………………………………… 1

Rationale……………………………………………………………………………… 2

Purpose of the Study………………………………………………………………. 3

Objectives of the Study…………………………………………………………….. 3

Theoretical Basis for the Study…………………………………………………….. 4

Stress and Coping Theory………………………………………………………… 5

Primary Appraisal………………………………………………………………. 6

Personal Variables……………………………………………………………. 6

Environmental Variables…………………………………………………….. 8

Interpersonal Neurobiology……………………………………………………… 9

Nominal Definitions……………………………………………….………………..10

Chapter 2 – Review of Literature……………………………………………………………………………..12

What is Mindfulness?………………………………………………………….……12

Measures of Mindfulness……………………………………………………....……15

Descriptive Data…………………………………………………………………..…18

Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS)…………………….……..18

Mindfulness Attention and Awareness Scale for Adolescents (MAAS–A)……..…20

Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) ……………………………………….….21

Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) ………………………………..21

Philadelphia Mindfulness Scale (PHLMS) ……………………………………….22

Mindfulness Studies in Adult Samples……………………………………………….24

Advancement of Adolescence: Physical, Cognitive, and Psychosocial Changes……27

Mindfulness Studies with Adolescents………………………………………………29

Mechanisms of Mindfulness: Potential Mediators…………………………………….…...…..32

Mindfulness Level………………………………………………………………..…..33

Emotion regulation……………………………………………………………………34

Self-compassion……………………………………………………..…………………35

Chapter 3 – Method…………………………………………………………………….…..……………………….40

Sample………………………………………………………………………………………………………….40

Procedure………………………………………………………………………………………………………40

Data Collection………………………………………………………………………………………….46

Mindfulness………………………………………………………………………46

Positive and Negative Affect…………………………………………………47

Self-compassion…………………………………………………………………48

Life Satisfaction………………………………………………………….……..49

Perceived Stress…………………………………………………………..……..50

Data Analysis…………………………………………………………………………………….……..51

Chapter 4 – Results……………………………………………………………………………………...…………58

Preliminary Analysis……………………………………………………………………..58

Descriptive Statistics……………………………………………………..………………58

Demographic Variables……………………………………………………………….58

Means and Standard Deviations……………………………………………………………..69

Cronbach’s Alpha…………………………………………………………………………………………..74

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Bivariate Correlations……………………………………………………………...…..74

Mediational Analysis……………………………………………………………………80

Positive Affect…………………………………………………………………………81

Negative Affect…………………………………………………………….………….84

Life Satisfaction………………………………………………………….……………86

Perceived Stress…………………………………………………………….…………88

Alternate Models………………………………………………………………………….90

Positive Affect…………………………………………………………………………91

Negative Affect……………………………………………………………………….93

Life Satisfaction………………………………………………………………………96

Perceived Stress………………………………………………………………………97