David Cooper1, Keong Yap2, Luisa Batalha1. 1. School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Strathfield Campus, 25A Barker Road, Strathfield, NSW 2135, Australia. 2. School of Psychology, Australian Catholic University, Strathfield Campus, 25A Barker Road, Strathfield, NSW 2135, Australia. Electronic address: keong.yap@acu.edu.au.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: An inability to identify or describe internal emotional experience has been linked to a range of affective disorders. Despite burgeoning research on mindfulness-based interventions and their possible effects on emotion regulation, the effects of such interventions on emotional clarity is unclear. This review examines the evidence for the effect of mindfulness-based interventions on self-reported emotional clarity. METHOD: Published studies indexed by PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus, as available in April 2017, were systematically reviewed. Interventions that included mindfulness practice or philosophy, and reported a suitable measure of emotional clarity at pre- and post-intervention were selected. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed. Subgroup comparisons were also conducted to test for differences between clinical and non-clinical samples, between specific and approximate measures of emotional clarity, and between controlled and uncontrolled trials. RESULTS: Seventeen studies met the criteria for inclusion. The overall estimated effect size for pre- to post-intervention was small to moderate, Hedges' g = 0.42, 95% CI [0.25, 0.59] and for between groups results was small to large, Hedges' g = 0.52, 95% CI [0.15, 0.90]. LIMITATIONS: Studies varied substantially in design quality and study characteristics. Furthermore, while interventions in the reviewed studies all had mindfulness components, many had other components in addition to mindfulness. Consequently, this review is limited by the heterogeneity of studies and results should be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSIONS: There is preliminary evidence to suggest that mindfulness-based interventions may increase emotional clarity. However, more homogenous and targeted experiments are required to confirm these initial findings.
BACKGROUND: An inability to identify or describe internal emotional experience has been linked to a range of affective disorders. Despite burgeoning research on mindfulness-based interventions and their possible effects on emotion regulation, the effects of such interventions on emotional clarity is unclear. This review examines the evidence for the effect of mindfulness-based interventions on self-reported emotional clarity. METHOD: Published studies indexed by PsycINFO, PubMed and Scopus, as available in April 2017, were systematically reviewed. Interventions that included mindfulness practice or philosophy, and reported a suitable measure of emotional clarity at pre- and post-intervention were selected. A random-effects meta-analysis was performed. Subgroup comparisons were also conducted to test for differences between clinical and non-clinical samples, between specific and approximate measures of emotional clarity, and between controlled and uncontrolled trials. RESULTS: Seventeen studies met the criteria for inclusion. The overall estimated effect size for pre- to post-intervention was small to moderate, Hedges' g = 0.42, 95% CI [0.25, 0.59] and for between groups results was small to large, Hedges' g = 0.52, 95% CI [0.15, 0.90]. LIMITATIONS: Studies varied substantially in design quality and study characteristics. Furthermore, while interventions in the reviewed studies all had mindfulness components, many had other components in addition to mindfulness. Consequently, this review is limited by the heterogeneity of studies and results should be interpreted with caution. CONCLUSIONS: There is preliminary evidence to suggest that mindfulness-based interventions may increase emotional clarity. However, more homogenous and targeted experiments are required to confirm these initial findings.
Authors: Giovanni Ramos; Adrian Aguilera; Amanda Montoya; Anna Lau; Chu Yin Wen; Victor Cruz Torres; Denise Chavira Journal: JMIR Res Protoc Date: 2022-04-14
Authors: Rossella Mattea Quinto; Francesco De Vincenzo; Dario Graceffa; Claudio Bonifati; Marco Innamorati; Luca Iani Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2022-03-19 Impact factor: 3.390