Boredom proneness and symptoms of anxiety and depression - the moderating effect of mindfulness

Presentation about a study on boredom and mindfulness.

1. BOREDOM PRONENESS AND SYMPTOMS OF ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION: THE MODERATING EFFECT OF MINDFULNESS Felicia K S Lee, PsyD Diane Zelman, PhD

2. Boredom A state of being weary, restless through lack of interest Alliant.edu

3. Boredom It is an unpleasant affective state of dissatisfaction attributable to inadequately arousing environments ( Mikulas & Vodanovich, 1993). Alliant.edu

4. Alliant.edu Are we there yet? Only 200 days to go

5. Boredom Proneness Boredom proneness is the tendency for an individual to become bored The more we become habituated with constant stimulation, the less tolerable we are where external stimulation is low. Alliant.edu

6. Boredom proneness is an issue of concern A cross-cultural study of boredom proneness among college students in Australia, Hong Kong, Lebanon and the United States found that Hong Kong students reported the second highest levels of boredom proneness ( Sundberg et al, 1991). Boredom is one of the major reasons for youth drug abuse (Task Force on Youth Drug Abuse, 2008). Boredom proneness may relate to the lack of motivation and feelings of emptiness that accompany depression . Alliant.edu

7. Boredom Proneness Alliant.edu

8. Dispositional Mindfulness Dispositional mindfulness is the tendency towards present-moment awareness Alliant.edu Dispositional Mindfulness Acting with awareness Describing Non-reactivity Non-judging Observing Stronger attentional capacity Greater emotional well-being

9. Research Question To what degree is boredom proneness associated with different facets of dispositional mindfulness and how are both associated with depression, anxiety and stress? Does dispositional mindfulness alter the relationship between boredom proneness and symptoms of depression, anxiety and stress? Alliant.edu

10. Participants Participants (N=186) 60.8% female, 48.4% single, 75.8% employed Mean age = 38.33 (SD= 13.435), range 18 to 83 Currently residing in Hong Kong, primary language: English, Cantonese or Mandarin 49.5% college educated, 17.2% diploma level, 30.1% high school level 90.9% had never participated in any meditation practice Alliant.edu

11. Procedures and Measures A survey was administered to the general public at shopping malls in 18 districts in Hong Kong, comprising of Short Boredom Proneness Scale (SBPS; Struk et al., 2015) Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer et. al. 2008; Hou. et al., 2014) Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond , 1995; Taouk , Lovibond , & Laubeet , 2001) Alliant.edu

12. Statistical Analysis Correlation between boredom proneness, mindfulness and negative affective symptoms Multiple regression with moderation analysis to examine how boredom proneness and mindfulness interact in the prediction of negative affective symptoms. Conditional analysis to evaluate the effect of boredom proneness on negative affective symptoms at different values of mindfulness Alliant.edu

13. Results (1) Are Boredom Proneness and Mindfulness Related? Yes, r(186) = -.236 to -.582, all p’s <.01. Alliant.edu

14. Results ( 2) Are (a) Boredom Proneness and (b) Dispositional Mindfulness Related to Negative Affect? (a) Yes, r (186) = 230 to .465, all p’s < .01. (b) Yes, r (186) = -.179 to -.510, all p’s <.05. Alliant.edu

15. Results How boredom proneness and mindfulness interact in the prediction of negative affective symptoms? Alliant.edu

16. Results Dispositional Mindfulness, Mindful Acting with Awareness and Mindful Describing moderate the effect of Boredom Proneness on negative affective states Alliant.edu

17. Implications Only an average level of Dispositional Mindfulness is needed to buffer the negative emotional effects of boredom proneness. At high level of Dispositional Mindfulness and Mindful Describing, more boredom-prone individuals actually displayed lower anxiety ! Further research should be conducted to find out whether highly mindful individuals might utilize boredom as a positive state . Alliant.edu

18. Alliant.edu

19. Implications The findings suggest the benefit of incorporating mindfulness into interventions for individuals susceptible to high boredom proneness. As Mindful Acting with Awareness moderates the effect of Boredom Proneness on depression, anxiety and stress, practicing active control of distracting attentional sources may alleviate negative affective symptoms associated with boredom proneness As Mindful Describing moderates the effect of Boredom Proneness on anxiety and stress, practice in describing/labelling emotions in a nonreactive way may reduce activity in brain regions associated with threat. Alliant.edu

20. Limitations Questionnaires were administered at shopping malls, in which people might be more healthy, more mobile, more sensation-seeking or more susceptible to boredom than the general population. Alliant.edu

21. References Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., et al. (2008). Construct validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in meditating and nonmeditating samples. Assessment, 15, 329-342. Davis, H. (2018, April 21). What social media platforms run Hong Kong and what are the implications? South China Morning Post, Retrieved form http://www.scmp.com. Hayes, A.F., 2013. Introduction to Mediation, Moderation, and Conditional Process Analysis: A Regression-based Approach. Guilford Press, New York, NY. Hou, J., Wong, S.Y.S., Lo, H.H.M. , Mak , W.W.S. & Ma, H.S.W. (2014). Validation of a Chinese Version of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Hong Kong and Development of a Short Form. Assessment, 21, 363 - 371. LePera , N. (2011). Relationships between boredom proneness, mindfulness, anxiety, depression, and substance use. New School Psychology Bulletin. 8, 15–25. Lovibond , S. H., & Lovibond , P. F. (1995). Manual for the Depression Anxiety Stress Scales (2nd ed.). Sydney, New South Wales, Australia: Psychology Foundation of Australia. Alliant.edu