Examining the Effects of Mindful Attention in Individuals with a Major Depressive Disorder

Abstract

Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) is a prevalent and debilitating psychological condition that continues to affect millions of people every year. The gold standard of treatment for MDD so far, has been Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), but for treatment to be effective, therapists must be formally trained, patients must have access to healthcare, and both parties need to commit to treatment for 6 weeks. The aim of this study is to examine whether Langerian mindfulness techniques– which require no formal training, are shorter, and more accessible—may be an effective alternative to traditional psychotherapy. Two widely used techniques tested in this study were Attention to Variability (ATV) and Novelty-seeking. Seventy-six patients diagnosed with MDD were randomly assigned to either receive no instructions (control group), ATV only, Novelty-seeking only, or both exercises, for one week. Patients were assessed on depression, mindfulness, and perceived control at baseline (T1), post-intervention (T2), and at one-month follow-up (T3). Mixed ANOVA analyses found a significant decrease in depression scores (F (1,52) = 352.795, p.001) and a significant increase in perceived control scores (F (1,52) = 5.311, p=0.025) from T1 to T2. Depression, mindfulness, and perceived control were not significantly different between conditions at T2. The novelty-seeking only condition had the biggest drop in depression scores from T1 to T2 (10.75 points), and the control condition had the smallest drop in scores (8.86 points). Mindfulness scores at T2 significantly correlated with T2 depression (r= -0.270, p=0.044) and T2 perceived control (r= 0.490, p.001) scores. While the mindful conditions did not significantly do better than control at T2, the change scores between T1 and T2 for depression and perceived control positively trend in the direction of our hypothesis. The mindful groups generally had bigger reductions in depression scores post-intervention compared to control. Additionally, higher mindful scores significantly correlated with lower depression scores and higher perceived control scores at T2. While further research is needed, these results indicate that Langerian mindfulness may be helpful in reducing depression in patients. High attrition and low sample size may account for the insignificant results found in this study.