Contemplative sciences: A future beyond mindfulness

Mindfulness is a psychological technique based on Eastern meditative practices that was developed in the late 1970s by Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts. Initially, there was a debate over whether it should be considered a scientific technique or labelled as part of the new wave practices. Today, mindfulness is omnipresent in modern societies but has suffered from merchandising and banalization, which has been strongly criticized. Despite some limitations regarding methodological aspects of mindfulness research, it is considered effective for treating many physical and psychological disorders, and even it is recommended in clinical guidelines such the British National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. During the last 2500 years, mindfulness practices have moved from Northern India across most of Asia, but their mixing with Western science and culture at the end of the 20(th) century is considered a key event in recent history. For the first time in human history, due to globalization, the wisdom of all contemplative traditions can be shared with all human beings and assessed by science. Mindfulness practices, yoga included, are giving birth to a new field of knowledge, contemplative sciences, which go beyond mindfulness and is devoted to helping humanity to reach higher levels of happiness and mental peace

How to reduce the number of rating scale items without predictability loss?

Rating scales are used to elicit data about qualitative entities (e.g., research collaboration). This study presents an innovative method for reducing the number of rating scale items without the predictability loss. The "area under the receiver operator curve method" (AUC ROC) is used. The presented method has reduced the number of rating scale items (variables) to 28.57\% (from 21 to 6) making over 70\% of collected data unnecessary. Results have been verified by two methods of analysis: Graded Response Model (GRM) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). GRM revealed that the new method differentiates observations of high and middle scores. CFA proved that the reliability of the rating scale has not deteriorated by the scale item reduction. Both statistical analysis evidenced usefulness of the AUC ROC reduction method.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figure

Burnout subtypes and absence of self-compassion in primary healthcare professionals: A cross-sectional study

Background: Primary healthcare professionals report high levels of distress and burnout. A new model of burnout has been developed to differentiate three clinical subtypes: ‘frenetic’, ‘underchallenged’ and ‘worn-out’. The aim of this study was to confirm the validity and reliability of the burnout subtype model in Spanish primary healthcare professionals, and to assess the explanatory power of the self-compassion construct as a possible protective factor.Method: The study employed a cross-sectional design. A sample of n = 440 Spanish primary healthcare professionals (214 general practitioners, 184 nurses, 42 medical residents) completed the Burnout Clinical Subtype Questionnaire (BCSQ-36), the Maslach Burnout Inventory General Survey (MBI-GS), the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The factor structure of the BCSQ-36 was estimated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) by the unweighted least squares method from polychoric correlations. Internal consistency (R) was assessed by squaring the correlation between the latent true variable and the observed variables. The relationships between the BCSQ-36 and the other constructs were analysed using Spearman’s r and multiple linear regression models.Results: The structure of the BCSQ-36 fit the data well, with adequate CFA indices for all the burnout subtypes. Reliability was adequate for all the scales and sub-scales (R=0.75). Self-judgement was the self-compassion factor that explained the frenetic subtype (Beta = 0.36; p<0.001); isolation explained the underchallenged (Beta = 0.16; p = 0.010); and over-identification the worn-out (Beta = 0.25; p = 0.001). Other significant associations were observed between the different burnout subtypes and the dimensions of the MBI-GS, UWES and PANAS.Conclusions: The typological definition of burnout through the BCSQ-36 showed good structure and appropriate internal consistence in Spanish primary healthcare professionals. The negative self-compassion dimensions seem to play a relevant role in explaining the burnout profiles in this population, and they should be considered when designing specific treatments and interventions tailored to the specific vulnerability of each subtype

Meditation awareness training for the treatment of workaholism: a controlled trial

Background and aims: Workaholism is a form of behavioral addiction that can lead to reduced life and job satisfaction, anxiety, depression, burnout, work–family conflict, and impaired productivity. Given the number of people affected, there is a need for more targeted workaholism treatments. Findings from previous case studies successfully utilizing second-generation mindfulness-based interventions (SG-MBIs) for treating behavioral addiction suggest that SG-MBIs may be suitable for treating workaholism. This study conducted a controlled trial to investigate the effects of an SG-MBI known as meditation awareness training (MAT) on workaholism. Methods: Male and female adults suffering from workaholism (n = 73) were allocated to MAT or a waiting-list control group. Assessments were performed at pre-, post-, and 3-month follow-up phases. Results: MAT participants demonstrated significant and sustained improvements over control-group participants in workaholism symptomatology, job satisfaction, work engagement, work duration, and psychological distress. Furthermore, compared to the control group, MAT participants demonstrated a significant reduction in hours spent working but without a decline in job performance. Discussion and conclusions: MAT may be a suitable intervention for treating workaholism. Further controlled intervention studies investigating the effects of SG-MBIs on workaholism are warranted

Ontological addiction theory: attachment to me, mine, and I

Background: Ontological addiction theory (OAT) is a novel metaphysical model of psychopathology and posits that human beings are prone to forming implausible beliefs concerning the way they think they exist, and that these beliefs can become addictive leading to functional impairments and mental illness. The theoretical underpinnings of OAT derive from the Buddhist philosophical perspective that all phenomena, including the self, do not manifest inherently or independently. Aims and methods: This paper outlines the theoretical foundations of OAT along with indicative supportive empirical evidence from studies evaluating meditation awareness training as well as studies investigating non-attachment, emptiness, compassion, and loving-kindness. Results: OAT provides a novel perspective on addiction, the factors that underlie mental illness, and how beliefs concerning selfhood are shaped and reified. Conclusion: In addition to continuing to test the underlying assumptions of OAT, future empirical research needs to determine how ontological addiction fits with extant theories of self, reality, and suffering, as well with more established models of addiction

The Mediterranean diet and micronutrient levels in depressive patients

Introduction: An inverse association between depression and some serum micronutrient levels (selenium, zinc, iron, magnesium, vitamin B and folic acid) has been reported. In addition, other studies reported that this micronutrient supplementation may improve depressed mood. The Mediterranean diet contains a sufficient amount of the micronutrients mentioned, although no study has reported an association between diet prescription and increased levels of them in depressive patients. Objective: To examine the impact of dietary patterns recommendations on micronutrient levels in depressive patients. Methods: 77 outpatients were randomly assigned either to the active (hygienic-dietary recommendations on diet, exercise, sleep, and sun exposure) or control group. Outcome measures were assessed before and after the six month intervention period. Results: Serum selenium and zinc levels were slightly low at basal point and serum selenium was inversely correlated with severity of depression (r=-0.233; p=0.041). A better outcome of depressive symptoms was found in the active group. Nevertheless, no significant differences in micronutrient levels were observed after the Mediterranean diet pattern prescription, probably due to an insufficient adherence. Conclusion: Selenium, zinc, iron, magnesium, vitamin B12 and folic acid serum levels didn`t increase in depressed patients after six months of the Mediterranean diet pattern prescription

Exploring emptiness and its effects on non-attachment, mystical experiences, and psycho-spiritual wellbeing: a quantitative and qualitative study of advanced meditators.

Wisdom-based Buddhist-derived practices (BDPs) are concerned with transmuting suffering by cultivating insight into the ultimate nature of both the self and reality. Arguably the most important wisdom-based BDP is emptiness (Sanskrit: śūnyatā) that implies that although phenomena are perceptible to the human mind, they do not intrinsically exist. Despite its significance in Buddhism, emptiness has received little empirical attention. Advancing scientific understanding of emptiness is important as it may yield novel insights not only into the nature of mind and reality, but also in terms of helping human beings realise more of their capacity for wisdom and wellbeing. This study recruited 25 advanced Buddhist meditators and compared emptiness meditation against a mindfulness meditation control condition within the same group of participants. Qualitative analytical techniques were also employed to investigate meditators’ experiences of emptiness. Compared to the mindfulness control condition, emptiness meditation resulted in significantly greater improvements in non-attachment to self and environment, mystical experiences, compassion, positive affect, and negative affect. No significant relationship was observed between duration of emptiness meditation and any of the aforementioned outcome measures. Qualitative outcomes demonstrated that participants (i) combined concentrative and investigative meditation techniques to induce emptiness, (ii) elicited spiritually meaningful insights both during and following the meditation on emptiness, and (iii) retained volitional control over the content and duration of the emptiness meditation. Cultivating emptiness appears to be a means of reconnecting advanced Buddhist meditators to what they deem to be the innermost nature of their minds and phenomena.N/

Validation of the Spanish version of the Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS)

Background: Boredom, which is a common problem in the general population, has been associated with several psychiatric disorders. The Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS) was developed, based on a theoretically and empirically grounded definition of boredom, to assess this construct. The aim of the present study was to assess the psychometric properties of the Spanish validated version of the MSBS in a multi-age sample recruited from the general population. Methods: The patients (N = 303) were recruited from primary care settings. In addition to the sociodemographic variables and the MSBS, the General Health Questionnaire 28 items (GHQ-28), Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS), Negative subscale and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) were administered. We used confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to analyse the dimensionality of the MSBS. Cronbach’s a coefficient was used to analyse the internal consistency of the scale. The consistency of the MSBS over time (test-retest reliability) was assessed using the intra-class correlation coefficient. The construct validity was examined by calculating Pearson’s r correlations between the MSBS with theoretically related and unrelated constructs. Cronbach’s a for MSBS was 0.89 (95 % CI, 0.87–0.92), ranging from 0.75 to 0.83 for the 5 subscales. Results: The characteristics of the final sample (N = 303) were that the participants were primarily female (66.77 %) with a mean age of 49.32 years (SD, 11.46) and primarily European (94.71 %). The CFA of the MSBS confirmed that the original five-factor model showed good fit indices: CFI = .96; GFI = .94; SRMR = .05; and RMSEA = .06 [.05–.08]. Cronbach’s a for MSBS was 0.89 (95 % CI, 0.87–0.92), ranging from 0.75 to 0.83 for the 5 subscales. The MSBS showed a test-retest coefficient measured with an ICC of 0.90 (95 % CI, 0.88–0.92). The ICC for the 5 subscales ranged from 0.81 to 0.89. The MSBS showed a significant negative correlation with MAAS and a significant positive correlation with the GHQ (total score and subscales) and PANAS-Negative Affect. Conclusions: The Spanish version of the MSBS has been validated as a reliable instrument for measuring boredom in the general population. This study will facilitate the assessment of boredom for clinical and research purposes in Spanish-speaking populations