Mindfulness, Self-Compassion, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms, and Functional Disability in U.S. Iraq and Afghanistan War Veterans.
Journal Article (Journal Article)
Mindfulness and self-compassion are overlapping, but distinct constructs that characterize how people relate to emotional distress. Both are associated with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and may be related to functional disability. Although self-compassion includes mindful awareness of emotional distress, it is a broader construct that also includes being kind and supportive to oneself and viewing suffering as part of the shared human experience--a potentially powerful way of dealing with distressing situations. We examined the association of mindfulness and self-compassion with PTSD symptom severity and functional disability in 115 trauma-exposed U.S. Iraq/Afghanistan war veterans. Mindfulness and self-compassion were each uniquely, negatively associated with PTSD symptom severity. After accounting for mindfulness, self-compassion accounted for unique variance in PTSD symptom severity (f(2) = .25; medium ES). After accounting for PTSD symptom severity, mindfulness and self-compassion were each uniquely negatively associated with functional disability. The combined association of mindfulness and self-compassion with disability over and above PTSD was large (f(2) = .41). After accounting for mindfulness, self-compassion accounted for unique variance in disability (f(2) = .13; small ES). These findings suggest that interventions aimed at increasing mindfulness and self-compassion could potentially decrease functional disability in returning veterans with PTSD symptoms.
Full Text
Duke Authors
Cited Authors
- Dahm, KA; Meyer, EC; Neff, KD; Kimbrel, NA; Gulliver, SB; Morissette, SB
Published Date
- October 2015
Published In
Volume / Issue
- 28 / 5
Start / End Page
- 460 - 464
PubMed ID
- 26426991
Pubmed Central ID
- PMC5032647
Electronic International Standard Serial Number (EISSN)
- 1573-6598
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
- 10.1002/jts.22045
Language
- eng
Conference Location
- United States