Decentering as a mediator of the effect of mindfulness on emotional distress: Evidence from cross-sectional and longitudinal designs

Objective: To investigate the role of decentering as a mediator of the effect of mindfulness/mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) on emotional distress, we conducted cross-sectional and longitudinal designs.Method: In Study 1, a total of 998 participants with high emotional distress were included. Mindfulness, decentering, anxiety, and depression were measured at baseline. In Study 2, 688 participants with high emotional distress were randomized to a Mindfulness Intervention for Emotional Distress (MIED) group (N = 344) and a waitlist control (WL) group (N = 344). The same variables were assessed at pre-intervention, week 3, week 5, and post-intervention.Results: In the cross-sectional design, simple mediation analyses pointed to decentering as a significant mediator of the relationship between mindfulness and symptoms of anxiety and depression. In the longitudinal designs, repeated measures ANOVAs showed that decentering, anxiety, and depression significantly improved in the MIED group compared to WL group. Random-intercept cross-lagged panel models found that decentering and emotional distress reciprocally influenced each other. Longitudinal mediation analyses showed that decentering during the intervention significantly mediated the effect of the MIED program on alleviating emotional distress.Conclusion: Decentering may potentially act as a pivotal mediator for alleviating emotional distress in MBIs.