Daily stress and the benefits of mindfulness: Examining the daily and longitudinal relations between present-moment awareness and stress responses

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Highlights

  • Present-moment awareness is associated with enhanced responses to daily stress.

  • Present-moment awareness predicts enhanced responses to stress on a subsequent day.

  • The above effects are independent of daily negative affect and threat appraisal.

Abstract

Theories of mindfulness claim that a state of present-moment awareness enhances self-regulation in the presence of negative emotion. However, very little research has tested this claim in relation to daily stressors. This paper examined whether present-moment awareness during daily stressful events predicted enhanced responding to (a) the same day’s event, (b) a stressful event on the subsequent day and (c) stressful events on average, among a sample of adults (N = 143) over 20 days. We found support for these predictions, controlling for negative affect and stress-related appraisals. These novel findings extend the personality literature by showing that present-moment awareness facilitates adaptive stress-responses, independent of an individual’s affective state and the severity of threat experienced.

Introduction

Daily stressors and hassles such as being stuck in traffic, losing keys or arguing with family may seem relatively benign. But there’s evidence that these relatively minor stressors have a more negative impact on well-being than bigger life events because of their regularity and cumulative effects (Almeida, 2005, Chamberlin and Zika, 1990, Serido et al., 2004). Oftentimes, people respond to these stressors by seeking to suppress thinking (Gross & John, 2003), by denying them (Brown & Locker, 2009), or by distracting themselves (Wilson et al., 2014). While these avoidant strategies often serve short term adaptive functions (van ‘t Riet & Ruiter, 2013), when used repeatedly they undermine well-being and behavioural effectiveness (Hayes, Luoma, Bond, Masuda, & Lillis, 2006).

Several individual-difference (e.g., personality, social support, health and socioeconomic) and intra-individual (e.g., mood, self-efficacy and physical symptoms) variables have been found to predict reactivity to daily stressors (Affleck et al., 1994, Almeida, 2005, Chamberlin and Zika, 1990, Tennen et al., 2000). However, very little research has examined the role of a state of present-moment awareness (as opposed to somatic or affective states) in predicting responses to daily stress. Being psychologically present connects an individual to the opportunities available in any situation, and is therefore likely to broaden the range of possible responses to stress, meaning that such responses are more adaptive (Brown and Ryan, 2003, Hayes et al., 2006, Shapiro et al., 2006).

Present-moment awareness has been defined as the “continuous monitoring of experience with a focus on current experience rather than preoccupation with past or future events” (Cardaciotto, Herbert, Forman, Moitra, & Farrow, 2008, p. 205). Research into the effects of maintaining a state of present-moment awareness has increased rapidly in recent decades, as a part of the growing research (e.g., Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007) and practical (e.g. Reb & Atkins, 2015) interest in mindfulness. Dozens of studies have reported that present-moment awareness as a general disposition is associated with a host of psychological benefits, such as reduced anxiety and depressive symptoms, lowered perceived stress, increased mood and improved well-being (Brown et al., 2007, Weinstein et al., 2009). However, much less research has explored how changes in state attention and awareness predict enhanced responses to stress (Keng et al., 2011, Tanay and Bernstein, 2013).

We are only aware of one study directly examining the relations among state present-moment awareness and coping with stress (Weinstein et al., 2009, Study 3). Participants in that study were prompted to report their momentary level of present-moment awareness three times per day, and these assessments predicted less avoidance coping measured at the end of each day over a seven-day period. Several other studies have examined whether state present-moment awareness positively influences other stress-related variables. For example, state mindfulness (measured with versions of the state Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS); Brown & Ryan, 2003) has been found to predict greater post-conflict commitment, respect and support of a romantic partner (Barnes, Brown, Krusemark, Campbell, & Rogge, 2007) and improved insight problem solving (Ostafin & Kassman, 2012). More recently, Hülsheger, Alberts, Feinholdt, and Lang (2012; Study 2), found that state mindfulness (measured using the state MAAS) predicted less emotional exhaustion, measured daily over 10 working days, among a sample of professionals. Taken together, this research suggests that present-moment awareness should enhance the effectiveness of individuals’ responses to daily stressors as they occur.

The present study examined the effects of present-moment awareness on three stress-response variables: values-consistent responding, coping self-efficacy and avoidance coping (following Weinstein et al., 2009). By examining three stress-response variables, we were able to corroborate findings across outcome variables and therefore draw more robust conclusions than would be possible by measuring a single outcome alone (Weinstein & Ryan, 2011). The relations between present-moment awareness and each of values-consistent responding, coping self-efficacy and avoidance coping are reviewed next.

Values-consistent behaviour is freely-chosen behaviour that is consistent with how an individual wishes to respond within the broader context of their life and long-term goals, rather than being unduly influenced by the short-term contingencies of the immediate environment (Smout, Davies, Burns, & Christie, 2014). Values-consistent action predicts less psychological distress and enhanced well-being (Ciarrochi et al., 2011, Ferssizidis et al., 2010, Smout et al., 2014) and in the context of stressful experiences predicts greater pain tolerance (Páez-Blarrina et al., 2008) and less defensiveness (Crocker, Niiya, & Mischkowski, 2008).

When an individual is psychologically present, they are more aware of their options as well as their values, and are therefore more likely to respond in autonomously-motivated and values-consistent ways (Hayes et al., 2006, Weinstein and Ryan, 2011). Several studies have demonstrated this. For example, Brown & Ryan (2003; Study 4) found that state present-moment attention and awareness, measured three times per day over 14 consecutive days, predicted greater momentary autonomy, controlling for covariates such as gender and time of day. Autonomy is defined as behaviour that is self-endorsed and volitional (Ryan & Deci, 2000) so it is indicative of values-consistent behaviour. Another study found that trait mindfulness (measured using the trait MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003) predicted more autonomously motivated behaviour (Levesque & Brown, 2007). More recently, present-moment awareness has been found to be positively associated with values-consistent behaviour (Smout et al., 2014, Trompetter et al., 2013).

In the context of every-day stressful events, we therefore expected that present-moment awareness would predict more values-consistent responses to such events. Consistent with previous research (e.g., Arch and Craske, 2006, Britton et al., 2012, Hülsheger et al., 2012, Reber et al., 2012), we expected that present-centred individuals would be less reactive to negative emotion, and that this in-turn would enable more values-consistent responses to stressful experiences.

In addition, we expected that present-moment awareness would predict greater perceived self-efficacy in coping with daily stressful events. Coping self-efficacy describes the perceived competence the individual has for dealing with a stressor (Schwarzer & Renner, 2000) and has been consistently found to predict greater resilience and less trauma following stressful events (Benight and Bandura, 2004, Luszczynska et al., 2009). Conversely, low self-efficacy in relation to challenging experiences is associated with depression, anxiety and a loss of well-being (Karademas, 2006). Coping self-efficacy is therefore an important measure of an individuals’ ability to effectively respond to stressful events (Benight & Bandura, 2004).

In the context of daily stressors, we expected that higher levels of present-moment awareness would be associated with enhanced coping self-efficacy, as increased present-moment awareness widens the range of response options available to the person (Hayes et al., 2006, Shapiro et al., 2006), meaning that an individual’s perception of their ability to influence such situations should increase. Several studies provide support for this prediction. For example, a study of post-graduate counselling students found that present-moment attention (specifically, the ability to sustain and switch attention) predicted greater counselling self-efficacy (Greason & Cashwell, 2009). More recent studies of mothers and prospective mothers found that mindfulness-based interventions resulted in significantly greater maternal self-efficacy, relative to controls (Byrne et al., 2014, Perez-Blasco et al., 2013).

Finally, we expected that present-moment awareness would predict less avoidance coping with daily stressful events. Avoidance coping has been associated with greater psychological distress and reduced well-being across the life-cycle and across a range of stressors (for reviews, see Duangdao and Roesch, 2008, Nicholls and Polman, 2007, Roesch et al., 2005). As discussed, Weinstein et al. (2009; Study 3) found that state present-moment awareness predicted less avoidance (but not more approach) coping with daily stressful events, over a seven-day period. Other studies have sought to manipulate present-moment awareness via mindfulness interventions, and have found reductions in avoidance behaviours (Bergomi, Ströhle, Michalak, Funke, & Berking, 2013), and greater willingness to be exposed to unpleasant stimuli (Arch & Craske, 2006). These findings suggest that being in a state of present-moment awareness should be associated with less avoidance coping with daily stressors.

Being psychologically present is claimed to facilitate more adaptive and less defensive responses to stressful situations, independent of how much negative emotion such situations elicit (Brown and Ryan, 2003, Hayes et al., 2006, Weinstein and Ryan, 2011). To test this claim, the present study controlled for the effects of two affect-related variables, threat appraisal and daily negative affect, on stress responses. Perceptions of threat have been consistently shown to predict more avoidant and defensive responding to stressful events (Park et al., 2004, Sherman and Cohen, 2006, Stowell et al., 2001). When an individuals’ self-concept is threatened, defensive and avoidant responses are a way of protecting self-esteem (Sherman & Cohen, 2006). In addition, negative affect has been associated with less flexible and adaptive responses to stressful events (Fresco, Williams, & Nugent, 2006) including daily stressors (Affleck et al., 1994, Park et al., 2004). In the present study, we therefore expected that present-moment awareness would facilitate more effective responses to daily stressors, independent of an individual’s level of perceived threat associated with the stressor, and the degree of general negative affect the person experiences on a given day.

The model we tested in the present study is displayed in Fig. 1. Each of these variables was measured at the end of each day over a 20 day period, using retrospective recall of daily events.

We tested the above model in three ways: (a) as between-subjects effects, exploring whether higher average present-moment awareness during daily stressful events was associated with enhanced responses to daily stressors on average; (b) as within-subjects effects, testing whether within-subject increases in present-moment awareness were associated with enhanced responses to daily stressful events; and (c) as lagged effects, examining whether present-moment awareness on one day predicted more adaptive responses to a stressful event on a subsequent day. Regarding between-subjects effects, our first hypothesis was that differences in present-moment awareness during daily stressful events will predict more values-consistent responding, less avoidance coping and greater coping self-efficacy in relation to such events, independent of individual differences in daily negative affect and event-related stress appraisals.

Within-subjects analyses enabled the examination of within-day, intra-individual associations between present-moment awareness in relation to daily stressful events and the three dependent variables (see Bolger & Laurenceau, 2013). This approach treats each individual as his or her own control, by assessing whether being above one’s own average level of present-moment awareness on any given day is associated with enhanced coping responses, with each days’ association for each individual then averaged across days and individuals (Bolger & Laurenceau, 2013). Our second hypothesis, in relation to these within-subjects relationships, was that within-subjects variation in present-moment awareness during a daily stressful event will predict more values-consistent responding, less avoidance coping and greater coping self-efficacy in relation to that event, independent of within-subjects variation in daily negative affect and event-related stress appraisals.

Regressing predictors lagged by a meaningful time-period (e.g., one day) upon relevant outcome variables enables one to draw stronger inferences about the temporal relations between variables than the cross-sectional analyses described above (Kleiber & Zeileis, 2008). This approach has been used in the study of daily stress previously (e.g., Affleck et al., 1994, Caspi et al., 1987, DeLongis and Holtzman, 2005), but not to our knowledge in relation to present-moment-awareness and stress-responses. In the present study, we tested whether the effects of present-moment awareness during a stressful event ‘spilled over’ to influence responses to a separate stressful event the following day. Consistent with the conservation of resources model of stress (Hobfoll, 1989), we expected that greater present-moment awareness in relation to a stressor on one day would conserve coping resources (via less rumination and avoidance), meaning that the individual is better placed to respond to a subsequent but proximal stressor more effectively. Consistent with previous research on daily stress responses, we expected this effect to be relatively short-lived, predicting changes in stress-responses on the subsequent day but not further (Affleck et al., 1994, Bolger et al., 1989, Tennen et al., 2000). Our third and final hypothesis was therefore that an individual’s levels of present-moment awareness during a stressful event yesterday will predict more values-consistent responding, less avoidance coping and greater response self-efficacy in relation to a stressful event today, independent of negative affect and event-related stress appraisals yesterday.

Section snippets

Participants

Participants were 143 undergraduate and post-graduate students, and university staff (76.3% female; mean age 33.7). Around 74% identified as Caucasian, 14% as East or South Asian and 11% as ‘other’. Ninety-five per cent of participants held an undergraduate diploma or degree and 37% held a master’s or PhD degree.

Procedure

Participants for the present study were recruited as a part of a larger, multi-purpose study that included a randomised controlled mindfulness intervention. Students and staff at three

Statistical analyses

As discussed, relatively minor nuisances and hassles can have a larger effect on well-being than more major life-stressors, due to their cumulative effects across time (Almeida, 2005, Chamberlin and Zika, 1990, Serido et al., 2004). We therefore included all reports of individuals’ most stressful daily events in our analyses, even those that were appraised as relatively unthreatening, consistent with similar approaches elsewhere (Park et al., 2004, Todd et al., 2004, Weinstein et al., 2009).

Two

Results

We first tested whether there were differences in the dependent variables between those who volunteered to participate in the study and those who received a financial incentive to do so. We found significant differences between the two groups on coping self-efficacy (Mpaid = 3.22; Munpaid = 3.04; t = 2.75, p-value = 0.006), though not on any of the other study variables. We therefore included ‘financial incentive’ as a covariate in subsequent analyses.

In addition, we did not find significant effects of

Discussion

Theories of mindfulness claim that in the presence of an aversive experience such as stress, being psychologically present broadens one’s options for responding and facilitates more adaptive responses to such experiences, independent of how much negative emotion the person experiences (Brown et al., 2007, Hayes et al., 2006, Shapiro et al., 2006). However very few studies have tested this proposition in the context of daily stressful experiences. There is evidence that daily stressors, even

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