Facilitating Psychological Closure and Emotional Change Through Mindfulness Meditation
Trial statusNot yet recruiting
Trial phaseNot applicable
Trial typeInterventional
Biological sexAll
Age18+
SponsorUniversity of Windsor
About this trial
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if mindfulness meditation can improve closure and emotion towards unresolved memories in an undergraduate student population. This will be tested through a brief, novel intervention called Mindful Recollection, where participants transition immediately from mindfulness meditation into the recollection of an unresolved memory. The secondary aim of the study is to investigate the mechanisms of change underlying Mindful Recollection. Overall then, the main questions this study aims to answer are:
* Does mindful recollection reduce negative emotions associated with unresolved event memories? * Can increases in acceptance, decentering, and reappraisal account for the observed effects of mindful recollection on negative emotion? * Does mindful recollection facilitate closure towards unresolved event memories? * Can increases in acceptance, decentering, and reappraisal account for the observed effects of mindful recollection on closure?
Researchers will compare the Mindful Recollection intervention to a mind-wandering control task to see if mindfulness meditation uniquely produces positive changes in emotion and closure above and beyond placebo. Mindful Recollection will involve a 13-minute audio-guided mindfulness meditation followed immediately by 2 minutes of memory recollection. The control task will involve 13-minutes of audio-guided mind-wandering followed immediately by 2 minutes of memory recollection.
Participants will:
* Complete pretest measures of emotion and closure towards an unresolved event memory. * Engage in either the Mindful Recollection intervention or the placebo control task after a 24-72 hour delay. * Complete post-test measures of emotion and closure towards the same unresolved event memory.
Eligibility criteria
This trial accepts healthy volunteersQualifiers
Ability to hear and understand spoken instructions clearly; English language proficiency
Disqualifiers
Trauma history/Dissociative tendencies
Trial design
Design model
Parallel
Treatments tested in this trial
Mindfulness Meditation
BehavioralMindful Recollection consists of a 15-minute audio-guided task (13 minutes of guided meditation followed immediately by 2 minutes of unresolved event recollection). The 13-minute guided meditation is intended to facilitate a broad mindful awareness by working through sensations of the breath, body, and mind (in that respective order), eventually coming together in a practice of open monitoring - the non-selective observation of any and all aspects of experience. The 2-minute recollection period will have participants transition from meditating to recalling and reflecting on an unresolved memory they identified during the pretest period (approximately 24-72 hours prior).
Mind-Wandering Task
BehavioralThe mind-wandering control task consists of a 15-minute audio-guided task (13 minutes of mind-wandering followed immediately by 2 minutes of unresolved event recollection). Mind-wandering is a common sham mindfulness technique that repeatedly prompts participants to let their thoughts flow freely, thinking about whatever comes to mind. This exposes participants to the same procedure (i.e., listening to a 13-minute audio-recording) without receiving guided mindful meditation instructions. Thus, this condition will guide participants to have a typical mental experience of thinking freely about whatever comes to mind, without developing a mindful awareness of their internal experience.
Treatment groups
220 Participants
are divided into 2 treatment groupsGroup A: Mindful RecollectionExperimental treatment 1 intervention
Group B: Mind-WanderingSham comparator 1 intervention
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
1
Pre- to Post-Test Changes in Psychological Closure using the Closure and Resolution Scale (CRS)
Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = Completely disagree, 7 = Completely agree), with higher scores reflecting greater levels of closure and resolution.
Time frame
Baseline (24-72 hours prior to the intervention) and post-test (immediately after intervention)2
Pre- to Post-Test Changes in Negative Emotion using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS)
Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Not at all, 5 = Extremely), with higher scores reflecting a stronger endorsement of that emotional experience.
Time frame
Baseline (24-72 hours prior to the intervention) and post-test (immediately after intervention)Secondary outcomes
1
Experiential Acceptance Towards Thoughts and Emotions
Using the acceptance subscale of The Southampton Experiential Avoidance and Acceptance Scale. Items are rated on a 7-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree, 7 = Strongly agree), with higher scores indicating greater levels of openness towards internal experience.
Time frame
Immediately after the intervention (post-test)2
Reappraisal
Using the Regulation of Emotion Systems Survey. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree), with higher scores indicating greater engagement in reappraisal during the assigned task.
Time frame
Immediately after the intervention (post-test)3
State Decentering
Using the Metacognitive Processes of Decentering-state scale. Items are rated on an 11-point Likert scale (0 = Not at all, 10 = Very much), with higher scores reflecting greater levels of state decentering (i.e., being aware of, disidentified with, and nonreactive to thoughts and emotions).
Time frame
Immediately after the intervention (post-test)Other outcomes
1
Memory Characteristics
Using the Memory Experience Questionnaire Short-Form. Measures distinct qualities of autobiographical memory (e.g., coherence, vividness, visual perspective). Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly disagree, 5 = Strongly agree), with higher scores indicating greater endorsement of a given memory characteristic.
Time frame
Immediately after the intervention (post-test)2
State Mindfulness (Manipulation Check)
Using the State Mindfulness Scale. Administered as a manipulation check to measure participants' reports of mindful states during the assigned tasks. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = Not at all, 5 = Very well), with higher scores indicating greater states of mindfulness.
Time frame
Immediately after the intervention (post-test)Sponsors and contacts
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Source ClinicalTrials.gov
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