The association between facets of mindfulness and COVID-19 related distress: A cross-sectional study

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Enhanced fear of the virus may be a risk factor for the mental health consequences of COVID-19.

“A potential risk factor for the mental health consequences of COVID-19 could be enhanced fear related to the virus (Mertens, Gerritsen, et al., 2020; Taylor et al., 2020b).”

• cites Mertens, Gerritsen, et al., 2020 sourceSupported
• cites Taylor et al., 2020bNot matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, uncertainty and government restrictions contributed to increased mental health problems, including stress and anxiety.

“Beyond the impact on physical health, the ongoing uncertainty related to the pandemic and the restrictions imposed by the governments of the world has also led to increased mental health related problems, including increased rates of stress and anxiety (Killgore et al., 2021; Magalhaes et al., 2021; Raihan, 2021).”

• cites Killgore et al., 2021 sourcePartly supported

  The Abstract reports elevated anxiety and acute stress during the first three weeks of U.S. lockdowns, and the Introduction links pandemic uncertainty and restrictions to mental-health concerns. The paper does not establish that restrictions caused the increases worldwide or over the ongoing course of the pandemic; its findings concern the United States in the first weeks and are largely associational. (LLM, conf=0.84)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
• cites Magalhaes et al., 2021 sourcePartly supported

  The Discussion (page not provided) links uncertainty with stress and anxiety, and the Introduction describes how distancing and isolation disrupted life in the United States. But the study does not establish that government restrictions caused increased rates of these problems worldwide; the Discussion says stronger causal conclusions require further research. (LLM, conf=0.85)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
• cites Raihan, 2021 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction training improved mindfulness skills and psychological well-being during the first COVID-19 lockdown.

“In addition, a mindfulness based stress reduction training was found to improve mindfulness skills and enhance psychological well-being during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic (Accoto et al., 2021).”

• cites Accoto et al., 2021 sourceSupported

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Individuals with a strong general tendency to worry are more likely to experience COVID-19 related fear during the pandemic.

“For example, individuals who have a high tendency to worry in general, have an increased chance of fear related to COVID-19 during the pandemic (Baiano et al., 2020).”

• cites Baiano et al., 2020 sourcePartly supported

  The Discussion reports that participants with high pre-lockdown trait worry had greater increases in anxiety sensitivity and fear about their own mental health during quarantine than low worriers. The claim broadens this specific finding to COVID-19-related fear generally and to individuals beyond the small university-student sample; the Discussion explicitly cautions against generalizing to the broader population. (LLM, conf=0.86)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, present-moment attention was associated with more engagement coping, while non-judgement and acceptance was associated with less disengagement coping.

“In particular, being attentive to the present moment has been associated with more engagement coping during the COVID-19 pandemic, while non-judgement and acceptance was associated with less disengagement coping (Götmann & Bechtoldt, 2021).”

• cites Götmann & Bechtoldt, 2021 sourceSupported

May combine two claims.

People vary in their COVID-19 concerns and in their vulnerability to the pandemic's psychosocial effects.

“In addition, individual differences exist in the level of COVID-19 related concerns and therefore in the vulnerability to the psychosocial effects of the pandemic (Mertens, Gerritsen, et al., 2020; Taylor et al., 2021; Vos et al., 2021).”

• cites Mertens, Gerritsen, et al., 2020 sourcePartly supported

  The Discussion (page not specified in our copy) reports a wide range of coronavirus concerns and finds that anxiety-related individual differences were associated with greater fear. It does not establish that differing levels of concern cause differing vulnerability to the pandemic’s broader psychosocial effects; the Discussion also cautions that the cross-sectional study cannot establish directionality. (LLM, conf=0.84)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
• cites Taylor et al., 2021 sourceSupported
• cites Vos et al., 2021 sourceSupported

May combine two claims.

Trait mindfulness is related to better coping strategies and can buffer against negative psychological outcomes from stressful life events.

“Studies also showed that trait mindfulness is related to use of better coping strategies and can act as a buffer against negative psychological outcomes from stressful life events (Bergomi et al., 2013; Sirois & Tosti, 2012; van Son et al., 2015; Weinstein et al., 2009).”

• cites Bergomi et al., 2013 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source
• cites Sirois & Tosti, 2012 sourcePartly supported

  The ‘Mindfulness, Stress, and Well-being’ section describes mindfulness as a stable tendency associated with self-regulation, reduced stress, and enhanced well-being. The Discussion also links mindfulness with acceptance of difficult thoughts and reports that low mindfulness accounts for the association between procrastination and stress. These passages do not establish that trait mindfulness leads to better coping strategies or buffers psychological outcomes specifically following stressful life events; no page numbers were available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.83)

  Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
• cites van Son et al., 2015 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Trait mindfulness can moderate the relationship between fear of the coronavirus and psychological distress.

“Moreover, trait mindfulness can also moderate the relationship between fear of the coronavirus and psychological distress (Vos et al., 2021).”

• cites Vos et al., 2021 sourceSupported

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Trait mindfulness is associated with lower levels of stress, anxiety, and depression.

“Over the years, research has demonstrated that trait mindfulness is associated with psychological health outcomes, such as lower levels of stress, anxiety and depression (for review see, Tomlinson et al., 2018).”

• cites Tomlinson et al., 2018 sourceSupported

Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

Trait mindfulness was negatively associated with COVID-19 related worries and fear of COVID-19.

“Several of these studies have found that trait mindfulness was negatively associated with COVID-19 related worries (Dillard & Meier, 2021) and fear of COVID-19 (Yalcin et al., 2021).”

• cites Dillard & Meier, 2021 sourceSupported
• cites Yalcin et al., 2021Not matched

  Couldn’t be matched to a paper in Crossref, so it can’t be checked.

Borderline on S1 (asserted), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based): unclear from the text.

Non-judging was negatively associated with COVID-19-related compulsive checking.

“Non-judging was negatively associated with COVID-19-related compulsive checking.”

May combine two claims.

The Fear of Coronavirus Questionnaire total score did not correlate with any mindfulness facet and was excluded from the main analyses.

“The total score of the FCQ did not correlate with any of the mindfulness facets and was therefore excluded from the main analyses.”

The quote only partly states this claim.

In a Dutch adult sample in February 2021, describing and non-judging were inversely related to COVID-19 related distress in multivariate regression analyses.

“Multivariate regression analyses showed that describing and non-judging were inversely related to COVID-19 related distress.”

May combine two claims.

In the sample, most mindfulness facet scores were significantly negatively correlated with COVID Stress Scale subscales, while observing was not.

“Most mindfulness facet scores were significantly negatively correlated with the CSS subscales, except for Observing (p's > .05).”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Questionnaires contained no explicit identifiers and were coded by number for tracking.

“The questionnaires did not contain any explicit identifiers but were coded by number for data collection tracking purposes.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Participants were recruited by quota sampling, which may have resulted in a more biased sample.

“participants were recruited by quota sampling, which may have resulted in a more biased sample.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

The regression analyses used a Bonferroni-adjusted alpha of 0.007 to control for multiple comparisons.

“Multiple linear regression analyses with a Bonferroni adjusted alpha of 0.007 (0.05/8) were conducted to assess the association between the five facets of mindfulness and the different components of COVID-19 stress, as well as general perceived stress and symptoms of anxiety.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The Perceived Stress Scale had good internal consistency in this sample, with Cronbach's alpha 0.85.

“The internal consistency of the PSS was good in this sample (Cronbach's alpha = 0.85).”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

The COVID Stress Scale total score had Cronbach's alpha 0.93, and its five subscales had alphas of 0.91, 0.89, 0.89, 0.87, and 0.75.

“Cronbach's alpha yielded 0.93 for the total score, and 0.91, 0.89, 0.89, 0.87, and 0.75 for subscales 1 to 5, respectively.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Quota sampling was used to include equal numbers of men and women across six age decades.

“Quota sampling was used to ensure that an equal number of men and women were included in the following six age decades: 18–30, 31–40, 41–50, 51–60, 61–70 and, 71 and above.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

In this sample, the FFMQ-SF total score had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.82, and its five subscales had alphas of 0.74, 0.79, 0.80, 0.75, and 0.66.

“The Cronbach's alpha was 0.82 for the total score, and 0.74, 0.79, 0.80, 0.75, and 0.66 for subscales 1 to 5, respectively.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

The study received ethics approval from Tilburg University's Social and Behavioral Sciences Ethics Review Board, and all participants gave informed consent according to the Declaration of Helsinki.

“Approval of this study was obtained from the Ethics Review Board of the school Social and Behavioral Sciences of Tilburg University (Protocol number: RP55), and all participants provided informed consent before participation according to the Declaration of Helsinki.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Researchers at Tilburg University's Medical and Clinical Psychology department checked the data for completeness and correctness.

“Researchers of the Medical and Clinical Psychology department at Tilburg University checked the data to ensure completeness and correctness.”

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Data from 811 participants were included for all study variables.

“Data from 811 participants were included for all study variables.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

Observing and describing have been related to openness and positive mental health.

“Observing (ability to observe both internal and external experiences) and describing (using words to explain/describe experiences) on the other hand, have been related to other psychological constructs such as openness and positive mental health (Bohlmeijer et al., 2011).”

• cites Bohlmeijer et al., 2011 sourceNot checked — no full text of the source

Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

Multicollinearity assumptions were satisfied in all regression models, with acceptable tolerance and variance inflation factor values.

“Assumptions regarding multicollinearity were met in all regression models, with appropriate tolerance and Variance Inflation Factor values.”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

Of 852 participants who gave informed consent, 40 dropped out before completion and one was removed for missing main outcome data.

“Of the 852 participants who completed informed consent, 40 dropped-out before study completion, and one participant had missing data on the main outcome measure, therefore were removed from the dataset (see Fig. 1 ).”

Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

The Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale had good internal consistency in this sample, with Cronbach's alpha 0.89.

“Internal consistency was good for this sample (Cronbach's alpha = 0.89).”