Mindfulness and emotion in relationships : emotion regulation, empathy, and affect as mediators of

152 Pages·2017·0.85 MB·English

University of New Mexico
UNM Digital Repository
Psychology ETDs Electronic Theses and Dissertations
8-28-2012
Mindfulness and emotion in relationships :
emotion regulation, empathy, and affect as
mediators of the association between mindfulness
and relationship satisfaction
Kathryn T. Wiggins
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Kathryn T. Wiggins
Candidate

Psychology
Department

This dissertation is approved, and it is acceptable in quality and form for publication:

Approved by the Dissertation Committee:

Bruce Smith, Chairperson

Barbara McCrady

Dan Matthews

Betsy Van Leit

Brian Shelley

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MINDFULNESS AND EMOTION IN RELATIONSHIPS:
EMOTION REGULATION, EMPATHY, AND AFFECT
AS MEDIATORS OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN
MINDFULNESS AND RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION

by

KATHRYN T. WIGGINS
B.S., Education, University of Georgia, 1980
M.S., Psychology, University of New Mexico, 2008

DISSERTATION

Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy

Psychology

The University of New Mexico
Albuquerque, New Mexico

July, 2012

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DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to the memories of my parents, Ruth and Jack Torbush.
By their example, they taught everything that’s really important about being in a
relationship.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I acknowledge Dr. Bruce Smith, my mentor and dissertation chair, for the
encouragement he has given me throughout graduate school and especially during this
dissertation process. His guidance and the knowledge he has shared has shaped me as a
scholar and as a clinician.
I also heartily thank my committee members, Dr. Barbara McCrady, Dr. Dan
Matthews, Dr. Betsy Van Leit, and Dr. Brian Shelley, for their input and encouragement
during the planning and execution of this project. Your comments and suggestions made
the finished product a much better paper. To Drs. Shelley and Van Leit, thank you both
for your insights as instructors of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and as seasoned
practitioners of mindfulness. The input of the committee was richer for your
contributions. To Dr. Shelley, thank you for your guidance as I pursued my own
mindfulness practice. Meditation not only helped me manage the stress of completing
this project, but my experiences and growth as a meditator provided much food for
thought during the process of this dissertation.
To my friends and colleagues in the psychology department, especially Jen Bennett,
thank you for the many conversations about couples work, mindfulness and MBSR. Our
talks helped me organize my thoughts, and your encouragement kept me working hard.
To my sister, Pat Daughtry, my sister-of-the-heart, Michelle Sauceda-Halliday, and my
son, Andrew Wiggins, thank you all for believing in me before, during and after graduate
school. Your love and support inspire me to keep moving forward.

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MINDFULNESS AND EMOTION IN RELATIONSHIPS:
EMOTION REGULATION, EMPATHY, AND AFFECT AS MEDIATORS
OF THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN
MINDFULNESS AND RELATIONSHIP SATISFACTION

By
Kathryn T. Wiggins

B.S., Education, University of Georgia, 1980
M.S., Psychology, University of New Mexico, 2008
Ph.D., Psychology, University of New Mexico, 2012

ABSTRACT

With increasing frequency over the past 25 years, mindfulness has been linked with
health and psychological wellbeing. Recently it has also been linked with healthy
interpersonal relationships. The present cross-sectional study of 331 diverse adults tested
a proposed model for understanding the association between mindfulness and relationship
satisfaction through the effects of three concepts related to emotion: emotion regulation,
empathy and positivity (ratio of positive to negative affect). Perspective taking, a
cognitive aspect of empathy, and positivity partially mediated the association between
both mindfulness and relationship satisfaction and mindfulness facet nonreactivity and
relationship satisfaction. Positivity emerged as the strongest mediator in both cases.
Empathic concern, an affective aspect of empathy, was found to be a significant mediator
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of the association between mindfulness and relationship satisfaction only in individuals
with a mindfulness meditation practice and for those with very high levels of emotional
awareness. When empathic concern was tested as a mediator of the association between
nonreactivity and relationship satisfaction, it was only significant in individuals with high
levels of emotional dysregulation.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES ...........................................................................................................x
LIST OF TABLES ......................................................................................................... xiii
CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................1
CHAPTER 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ..........................................................................3
What is Mindfulness ......................................................................................................3
Mindfulness and Interpersonal Relationships ................................................................5
Emotion Regulation, Mindfulness, and Relationships .............................................8
Does mindfulness play a role in emotion regulation? ........................................9
Is emotion regulation important to relationship satisfaction? ..........................11
How might mindfulness influence relationship satisfaction
through emotion regulation? ......................................................................11
Empathy, Mindfulness, and Relationships .............................................................13
Does mindfulness play a role in empathy? ......................................................14
Is empathy important to relationship satisfaction? ..........................................15
How might mindfulness influence relationship satisfaction
through empathy?.......................................................................................17
Affect, Mindfulness and Relationships ..................................................................18
Does mindfulness play a role in our experience of positive and
negative affect? ..........................................................................................19
Is affect important to relationship satisfaction? ...............................................21
How might mindfulness influence relationship satisfaction
through affect .............................................................................................23
The Current Study ........................................................................................................26
CHAPTER 3 METHODOLOGY ...................................................................................33
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Participants and Recruitment .......................................................................................33
Procedure .....................................................................................................................35
Measures ......................................................................................................................36
Demographics and Meditation ...............................................................................36
Mindfulness............................................................................................................37
Relationship Satisfaction .......................................................................................38
Effective Emotion Regulation................................................................................40
Empathy .................................................................................................................41
Positive and Negative Affect .................................................................................41
Social Desirability ..................................................................................................42
Power Analysis ............................................................................................................43
Statistical Analysis Strategy ........................................................................................44
CHAPTER 4 RESULTS ..................................................................................................56
Demographics ..............................................................................................................56
Demographic Variables and Outcomes .......................................................................56
Relationships between Study Variables ......................................................................61
Results for Mediation Analyses ...................................................................................64
Mindfulness as Independent Variable ....................................................................64
Effective Emotion Regulation as Mediator......................................................64
Empathic Concern as Mediator ........................................................................74
Perspective Taking as Mediator .......................................................................81
Positivity Ratio as Mediator.............................................................................82
Nonreactivity as Independent Variable ..................................................................82
Effective Emotion Regulation as Mediator......................................................87
Empathic Concern as Mediator ........................................................................87
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Perspective Taking as Mediator .......................................................................88
Positivity Ratio as Mediator.............................................................................90
Summary ......................................................................................................................90
CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION............................................................................................92
Discussion of the Results .............................................................................................92
Future Directions .........................................................................................................99
Limitations of the Study.............................................................................................100
Conclusions ................................................................................................................101
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................103
APPENDIX A MEASURES ........................................................................................104
Demographics ............................................................................................................104
Mindfulness................................................................................................................105
Relationship Satisfaction ...........................................................................................109
Empathy .....................................................................................................................111
Empathic Concern ................................................................................................111
Perspective Taking ...............................................................................................112
Effective Emotion Regulation....................................................................................113
Positivity Ratio...........................................................................................................116
Social Desirability ......................................................................................................117
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................118

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