Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Mindfulness-Related Traits Partially Mediate the Association Between Lifetime and Childhood Trauma Exposure and PTSD and Dissociative Symptoms in a Community Sample Assessed Online

  • ORIGINAL PAPER
  • Published:
Mindfulness Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Although theory suggests the relevance of mindfulness and mindfulness-based therapies for understanding relationships between trauma, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and dissociative experiences, little research has directly compared associations between mindfulness and trauma-related distress versus dissociation, including dissociative trauma-related altered states of consciousness (TRASC). We therefore examined whether mindfulness traits (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire [FFMQ]) partially mediated the relationship between self-reported trauma exposure, whether occurring during childhood or anytime in life, and outcomes of PTSD, dissociative subtype PTSD, and TRASC in 952 trauma-exposed participants surveyed online. The relationships between increased traumatic experiences and PTSD, dissociative PTSD, and TRASC were partially mediated by the decreased capacity for mindful describing, acting with awareness, and non-judging traits, although decreased mindful non-reactivity partially mediated only the association between increased childhood trauma exposure and PTSD symptoms, while increased mindful observing partially mediated the association between increased lifetime trauma exposure and increased PTSD and dissociative symptoms. Our findings suggest that altered or decreased capacity for different facets of trait mindfulness may be one mechanism by which trauma exposure leads to the development of trauma-related distress and dissociation.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arditte, K. A., Çek, D., Shaw, A. M., & Timpano, K. R. (2015). The importance of assessing clinical phenomena in Mechanical Turk Research. Psychological Assessment. doi:10.1037/pas0000217.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13, 27–45. doi:10.1177/1073191105283504.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Lykins, E., Button, D., Krietemeyer, J., Sauer, S., Walsh, E., Duggan, D., & Williams, J. M. G. (2008). Construct validity of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in meditating and nonmeditating samples. Assessment, 15(3), 329–342. doi:10.1177/1073191107313003.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Banks, K., Newman, E., & Saleem, J. (2015). An overview of the research on mindfulness-based interventions for treating symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder: a systematic review. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 71(10), 935–963. doi:10.1002/jclp.22200.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baslet, G., & Hill, J. (2011). Case report: brief mindfulness-based psychotherapeutic intervention during inpatient hospitalization in a patient with conversion and dissociation. Clinical Case Studies, 10(2), 95–109. doi:10.1177/1534650110396359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blevins, C. A., Weathers, F. W., Davis, M. T., Witte, T. K., & Domino, J. L. (2015). The posttraumatic stress disorder checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5): development and initial psychometric evaluation. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 28, 489–498. doi:10.1002/jts/22059.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bohlmeijer, E., ten Klooster, P. M., Fledderus, M., Veehof, M., & Baer, R. (2011). Psychometric properties of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in depressed adults and development of a short form. Assessment, 18(3), 308–320. doi:10.1177/1073191111408231.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Boon, S., Steele, K., & van der Hart, O. (2011). Coping with trauma- related dissociation: skills training for patients and therapists. New York: Norton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Corrigan, F. M. (2002). Mindfulness, dissociation, EMDR and the anterior cingulate cortex: a hypothesis. Contemporary Hypnosis, 19, 8–17. doi:10.1002/ch.235.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • de Bruin, E. I., Topper, M., Muskens, J. G. A. M., Bogels, S. M., & Kamphuis, J. H. (2012). Psychometric properties of the five facets mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ) in a meditating and a non-meditating sample. Assessment, 19(2), 187–197. doi:10.1177/1073191112446654.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., Koss, M. P., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: the Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) study. American Journal of Preventative Medicine, 14(4), 245–258.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Follette, V. M., Briere, J., Rozelle, D., Hopper, J. W., & Rome, D. I. (2015). Mindfulness-oriented interventions for trauma: integrating contemplative practices. New York: The Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frewen, P., & Lanius, R. A. (2015). Healing the traumatized self: consciousness, neuroscience, treatment. New York: W. W Norton & Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Frewen, P. A., Dozois, D. J. A., Neufeld, R. W. J., & Lanius, R. A. (2012). Disturbances of emotional awareness and expression in posttraumatic stress disorder: meta-mood, emotion regulation, mindfulness, and interference of emotional expressiveness. Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy, 4(2), 152–161. doi:10.1037/a0023114.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frewen, P. A., Brown, M. F. D., Steuwe, C., & Lanius, R. A. (2015a). Latent profile analysis and principal axis factoring of the DSM-5 dissociative subtype. European Journal of Psychotraumatology, 6, 26406. doi:10.3402/ejpt.v6.26406.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Frewen, P., Rogers, N., Flodrowski, L., & Lanius, R. (2015b). Mindfulness and metta-based therapy (MMTT): initial development and proof-of-concept of an internet resource. Mindfulness, 6, 1322–1334. doi:10.1007/s12671-015-0402-y.

  • Frewen, P. A., Brown, M. F., D., & Lanius, R. A. (in press). Trauma-related dissociation and subtyping PTSD: altered states of consciousness and the 4-D model. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica.

  • Friedman, M. J., Resick, P. A., Bryant, R. A., & Brewin, C. R. (2010). Considering PTSD for DSM-5. Depression and Anxiety, 28, 750–769. doi:10.1002/da.20767.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gold, S. N., & Seibel, S. L. (2009). Treating dissociation: a contextual approach. In P. F. Dell & J. A. O’Neil (Eds.), Dissociation and the dissociative disorders: DSM-V and beyond (pp. 625–636). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, P. (2008). On measuring mindfulness in psychosomatic and psychological research. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 64(4), 405–408. doi:10.1016/j.jpsychores.2008.02.001.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, P. (2011). Defining mindfulness by how poorly I think I pay attention during everyday awareness and other intractable problems for psychology’s (re)invention of mindfulness, comment on Brown et al (2011). Psychological Assessment, 23(4), 1034–1040. doi:10.1037/a0022713.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Grossman, P., & Van Dam, N. T. (2011). Mindfulness, by any other name…: trials and tribulations of sati in western psychology and science. Contemporary Buddhism, 12(1), 219–239. doi:10.1080/14639947.2011.564841.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: a regression-based approach. New York: Guildford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kalill, K. S., Treanor, M., & Roemer, L. (2014). The importance of non-reactivity to posttraumatic stress symptoms: a case for mindfulness. Mindfulness, 5, 314–321. doi:10.1007/s12671-012-0182-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karam, E. G., Friedman, M. J., Hill, E. D., Kessler, R. C., McLaughlin, K. A., & Koenen, K. C. (2014). Cumulative traumas and risk thresholds: 12-month PTSD in the World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Depression and Anxiety, 31, 130–142. doi:10.1002/da.22169.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Kearney, D. J., McDermott, K., Malte, C., Martinez, M., & Simpson, T. L. (2012). Association of participation in a mindfulness program with measures of PTSD, depression, and quality of life in a veteran sample. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 68(1), 101–116. doi:10.1002/jclp.20853.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kharlas, D. A., & Frewen, P. (2016). Trait mindfulness correlates with individual differences in multisensory imagery vividness. Personality and Individual Differences, 93, 44–50. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.09.027.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kilpatrick, D., Resnick, H., Milanak, M., Miller, M., & Friedman, M. (2013). National estimates of exposure to potentially traumatic events and PTSD prevalence using DSM-IV and proposed DSM-5 criteria. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 26, 537–547. doi:10.1002/jts.21848.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lang, A., Strauss, J., Bomyea, J., Bormann, J., Hickman, S., Good, R., & Essex, M. (2012). The theoretical and empirical basis for meditation as an intervention for PTSD. Behavior Modification, 36(6), 759–786. doi:10.1177/0145445512441200.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lanius, R. A., Vermetten, E., Loewenstein, R. J., Brand, B., Schmahl, C., Bremner, J. D., & Spiegel, D. (2010). Emotion modulation in PTSD: clinical and neurobiological evidence for a dissociative subtype. American Journal of Psychiatry, 167(6), 640–647. doi:10.1176/appi.ajp.2009.09081168.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lanius, R. A., Brand, B., Vermetten, E., Frewen, P. A., & Spiegel, D. (2012). The dissociative subtype of posttraumatic stress disorder: rationale, clinical and neurobiological evidence, and implications. Depression and Anxiety, 29(8), 701–708. doi:10.1002/da.21889.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, S. D., & Calhoun, P. S. (2010). The diagnostic accuracy of the PTSD Checklist: a critical review. Clinical Psychology Review, 30, 976–987. doi:10.1016/j.cpr.2010.06.012.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McLaughlin, K. A., Koenen, K. C., Friedman, M. J., Ruscio, A. M., Karam, E. G., Shahly, V., & Kessler, R. D. (2014). Subthreshold posttraumatic stress disorder in the World Mental Health (WMH) surveys. Biological Psychiatry, 77(4), 375–384. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2014.03.028.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Michal, M., Beutel, M. E., Jordan, J., Zimmerman, M., Wolters, S., & Heidenreich, T. (2007). Depersonalization, mindfulness, and childhood trauma. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 195(8), 693–696. doi:10.1097/NMD.0b013e31811f4492.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Neziroglu, F., & Donnelly, K. (2013). Dissociation from an acceptance- oriented standpoint. In F. Kennedy, H. Kennerley, & D. Pearson (Eds.), Cognitive behavioural approaches to the understanding and treatment of dissociation (pp. 236–250). New York: Routledge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Norris, F. H., & Sloan, L. B. (2014). Epidemiology or trauma and PTSD. In M. J. Friedman, T. M. Keane, & P. A. Resick (Eds.), Handbook of PTSD: science and practice (2nd ed., pp. 100–120). New York: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Paolacci, G., & Chandler, J. (2014). Inside the Turk: understanding Mechanical Turk as a participant pool. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 23(3), 184–188. doi:10.1177/0963721414531598.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schoorl, M., Van Mil-Klinkenberg, L., & Van Der Does, W. (2015). Mindfulness skills, anxiety sensitivity, and cognitive reactivity in patients with posttraumatic stress disorder. Mindfulness, 6(5), 1004–1011. doi:10.1007/s12671-014-0346-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shapiro, D. N., Chandler, J., & Mueller, P. A. (2013). Using Mechanical Turk to study clinical populations. Clinical Psychological Science, 1, 213–220. doi:10.1177/2167702612469015.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sledjeski, E. M., Speisman, B., & Dierker, L. C. (2008). Does number of lifetime traumas explain the relationship between PTSD and chronic medical conditions? Answers from the national comorbidity survey-replication (NCS-R). Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31(4), 341–349. doi:10.1007/s10865-008-9158-3.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Stein, D. J., McLaughlin, K. A., Koenen, K. C., Atwoli, L., Friedman, M. J., Hill, E. D., & Kessler, R. C. (2014). DSM-5 and ICD-11 definitions of posttraumatic stress disorder: investigating “narrow” and “broad” definitions. Depression and Anxiety, 31, 494–505. doi:10.1002/da.22279.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R. W., Arnkoff, D. B., & Glass, C. R. (2011). Conceptualizing mindfulness and acceptance as components of psychological resilience to trauma. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 12(4), 220–235. doi:10.1177/1524838011416375.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Walach, H., Buchheld, N., Buttenmüller, V., Kleinknecht, N., & Schmidt, S. (2006). Measuring mindfulness-the Freiberg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI). Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1543–1555. doi:10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weathers, F. W., Blake, D. D., Schnurr, P. P., Kaloupek, D. G., Marx, B. P., & Keane, T. M. (2013a). The Life Events Checklist for DSM-5 (LEC-5). Instrument available from the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov.

  • Weathers, F. W., Litz, B. T., Keane, T. M., Palmieri, P. A., Marx, B. P., & Schnurr, P. P. (2013b). The PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 Scale available from the National Center for PTSD (PCL-5). Scale available from the National Center for PTSD at www.ptsd.va.gov.

  • Zerubavel, N., & Messman-Moore, T. L. (2013). Staying present: incorporating mindfulness into therapy for dissociation. Mindfulness, 6(2), 303–314. doi:10.1007/s12671-013-0261-3.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimering, R., Gulliver, S. B., Knight, J., Munroe, J., & Keane, T. M. (2006). Posttraumatic stress disorder in disaster relief workers following direct and indirect trauma exposure to ground zero. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 19(4), 553–557. doi:10.1002/jts.20143.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, University of Western Ontario, University Hospital, 339 Windermere Rd (Room B3-264), London, ON, N6A 5A5, Canada

    Emily Boughner, Elizabeth Thornley, Daniel Kharlas & Paul Frewen

Authors
  1. Emily Boughner
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Elizabeth Thornley
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Daniel Kharlas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Paul Frewen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Paul Frewen.

Ethics declarations

The study received independent research ethics board approval from the representing institution.

Funding

This study was funded by the Ontario Mental Health Foundation.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Boughner, E., Thornley, E., Kharlas, D. et al. Mindfulness-Related Traits Partially Mediate the Association Between Lifetime and Childhood Trauma Exposure and PTSD and Dissociative Symptoms in a Community Sample Assessed Online. Mindfulness 7, 672–679 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0502-3

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-016-0502-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation