![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextgreen.png)
![Open Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltext_open_medium.gif)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltextred.png)
![Restricted Access](https://i-scholar.in/lib/pkp/templates/images/icons/fulltext_restricted_medium.gif)
The Role of Mindfulness in Cognitive Emotion Regulation and Thought Suppression
Subscribe/Renew Journal
Mindfulnessis a consciousstate of awarenessshown to be effective in emotion regulation and thoughtsuppression in stressful circumstances.Yetlittle research has evaluated the effects ofmindfulness on cognitive-emotion regulation and thought suppression. The present study aims to understand the association between mindfulness, cognitive emotion regulation, and thought suppression. We have utilized three standardized measures: the Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale, the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, and theWhite Bear Suppression Index. 133 (aged 20-60) participants from 16 countries were recruited using snowball sampling. We hypothesized that 1) mindfulness would negatively correlate with thought suppression, 2) mindfulness would negatively correlate with "negative cognitive emotion regulation techniques," and positively with "positive cognitive emotion regulation techniques."And 3) thought suppression would negatively correlate with "positive cognitive emotion regulation techniques" and positively with "negative cognitive emotion regulation techniques." Our results revealed that mindfulness positively correlates with thought suppression. Secondly, mindfulness positively correlated with only one positive cognitive emotion regulation technique, whereas it is negatively correlated with all the negative cognitive emotion regulation techniques. Lastly, thoughtsuppression is negatively correlated with positive cognitive emotion regulation techniques and positively correlated with negative cognitive emotion regulation techniques. The results suggest that the state of mindfulness could help understand the regulation of emotions adaptively and the tendency to suppress thoughts. Although this is a correlation study and provides associations between the variables, it helps us gain insight into the possiblebenefits ofmindfulness,whichcanbe further exploredthroughfuture studies.
Keywords
mindfulness, cognitive emotion regulation, thought suppression, stress
Subscription
Login to verify subscription
User
Font Size
Information
- Abramowitz, J. S., Tolin, D. F., & Street, G. P. (2001). Paradoxical effects of thought suppression: A meta-analysis of controlled studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 21(5), 683-703.
- Amstadter, A. B., & Vernon, L. L. (2008). A preliminary examination of thought suppression, emotion regulation, and coping in a trauma-exposed sample. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment and Trauma, 17(3), 279-295.
- Beevers, C. G., Wenzlaff, R. M., Hayes, A. M., & Scott, W. D. (1999). Depression and the ironic effects of thought suppression: Therapeutic strategies for improving mental control. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 6(2), 133.
- Brown, K.W., & Ryan, R.M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822-848.
- Chambers, R., Gullone, E., & Allen, N. B. (2009). Mindful emotion regulation: An integrative review. Clinical Psychology Review, 29(6), 560-572.
- Cisler, J. M., Olatunji, B. O., Feldner, M. T., & Forsyth, J. P. (2010). Emotion regulation and the anxiety disorders: An integrative review. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 32(1), 68-82.
- Davies, M. I., & Clark, D. M. (1998). Thought suppression produces a rebound effect with analogue post-traumatic intrusions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36(6), 571-582.
- Feldman, G., Hayes, A., Kumar, S., Greeson, J., & Laurenceau, J. P. (2007).Mindfulness and emotion regulation: The development and initial validation of the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS-R). Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 29(3), 177.
- Garland, E. L., & Roberts-Lewis, A. (2013). Differential roles of thought suppression and dispositional mindfulness in posttraumatic stress symptoms and craving.Addictive Behaviors, 38(2), 1555-1562.
- Garnefski, N., & Kraaij, V. (2007). The Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire: Psychometric features and prospective relationships with depression and anxiety in adults. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 23(3), 141.
- Garnefski, N., Koopman, H., Kraaij, V., & ten Cate, R. (2009). Brief report: Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and psychological adjustment in adolescents with a chronic disease. Journal of Adolescence, 32(2), 449-454.
- Garnefski, N., Kraaij, V., & Spinhoven, P. (2001). Negative life events, cognitive emotion regulation and emotional problems. Personality and Individual Differences, 30(8), 1311-1327.
- Greeson, J. M., Zarrin, H., Smoski, M. J., Brantley, J. G., Lynch, T. R., Webber, D. M., & Wolever, R. Q. (2018). Mindfulness meditation targets transdiagnostic symptoms implicated in stress-related disorders: Understanding relationships between changes in mindfulness, sleep quality, and physical symptoms. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary Alternative Medicine, 2018, Article 450519
- Gross, J. J., & Levenson, R. W. (1993). Emotional suppression: Physiology, self-report, and expressive behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64(6), 970.
- Gross, J. J., & Muñoz, R. F. (1995). Emotion regulation and mental health. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 2(2), 151-164.
- Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1-26.
- Hayes, A. M., & Feldman, G. (2004). Clarifying the construct of mindfulness in the context of emotion regulation and the process of change in therapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 255.
- Hepburn, S. R., Crane, C., Barnhofer, T., Duggan, D. S., Fennell, M. J., & Williams, J. M. G. (2009). Mindfulness‐based cognitive therapy may reduce thought suppression in previously suicidal participants: Findings from a preliminary study. British Journal of Clinical Psychology, 48(2), 209-215.
- Hofmann, S. G., & Gómez, A. F. (2017). Mindfulness-based interventions for anxiety and depression. Psychiatric Clinics, 40(4), 739-749.
- Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR). Constructivism in the Human Sciences, 8(2), 73.
- Kang, Y., Gruber, J., & Gray, J. R. (2013). Mindfulness and de-automatization. Emotion Review, 5(2), 192-201.
- Keng, S. L., Robins, C. J., Smoski, M. J., Dagenbach, J., & Leary, M. R. (2013). Reappraisal and mindfulness: A comparison of subjective effects and cognitive costs. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 51(12), 899-904.
- Kleiman, K., Wenzel, A., Waller, H., & Mandel, A. A. (2020). Dropping the Baby And Other Scary Thoughts: Breaking the cycle of unwanted thoughts in parenthood. Routledge.
- Langer, E. J. (1992). Matters of mind: Mindfulness/mindlessness in perspective.Consciousness and Cognition, 1(3), 289-305.
- Mandal, S. P., Arya, Y. K., & Pandey, R. (2012). Mental health and mindfulness: Mediational role of positive and negative affect. SIS Journal of Projective Psychology and Mental Health, 19(2), 150-159.
- Petrie, K. J., Booth, R. J., & Pennebaker, J. W. (1998). The immunological effects of thought suppression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75(5), 1264.
- Pettit, J. W., Temple, S. R., Norton, P. J., Yaroslavsky, I., Grover, K. E., Morgan, S. T., & Schatte, D. J. (2009). Thought suppression and suicidal ideation: Preliminary evidence in support of a robust association. Depression and Anxiety, 26(8), 758-763.
- Rassin, E. (2005). Thought suppression. Elsevier.
- Rodríguez-Ledo, C., Orejudo, S., Cardoso, M. J., Balaguer, Á., & Zarza-Alzugaray, J. (2018). Emotional intelligence and mindfulness: Relation and enhancement in the classroom with adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2162.
- Roemer, L., Williston, S. K., & Rollins, L. G. (2015). Mindfulness and emotion regulation. Current Opinion in Psychology, 3, 52-57.
- Shipherd, J. C., & Beck, J. G. (2005). The role of thought suppression in posttraumatic stress disorder. Behavior Therapy, 36(3), 277-287
- Teper, R., Segal, Z. V., & Inzlicht, M. (2013). Inside the mindful mind: How mindfulness enhances emotion regulation through improvements in executive control. CurrentDirections in Psychological Science, 22(6), 449-454
- Wegner, D. M. (1989). White bears and other unwanted thoughts: Suppression, obsession, and the psychology of mental control. Penguin Press.
- Wegner, D. M., Shortt, J. W., Blake, A. W., & Page, M. S. (1990). The suppression of exciting thoughts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 58, 409-418.
- Wegner, D. M., Zanakos, S. (1994). Chronic thought suppression. Journal of Personality, 62,615-640.
- Wenzlaff, R. M., & Wegner, D. M. (2000). Thought suppression. Annual Review of Psychology, 51(1), 59-91.
- Wegner, D. M., & Schneider, D. J. (2003). The white bear story. Psychological Inquiry, 14(3-4), 326-329.
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/abstractview.png)
Abstract Views: 289
![](https://i-scholar.in/public/site/images/pdfview.png)
PDF Views: 0