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Cited by 264Mindfulness and Compassion InterventionsPsychological Well-being and Life SatisfactionAnxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes

The psychological health benefits of accepting negative emotions and thoughts: Laboratory, diary, and longitudinal evidence

Open access
Ford, Brett Q., Lam, Phoebe, John, Oliver P., Mauss, Iris B.·2018·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
DOI 10.1037/pspp0000157PMC PMC5767148
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Abstract

Individuals differ in the degree to which they tend to habitually accept their emotions and thoughts without judging them-a process here referred to as habitual acceptance. Acceptance has been linked with greater psychological health, which we propose may be due to the role acceptance plays in negative emotional responses to stressors: acceptance helps keep individuals from reacting to-and thus exacerbating-their negative mental experiences. Over time, experiencing lower negative emotion should promote psychological health. To test these hypotheses, Study 1 (N = 1,003) verified that habitually accepting mental experiences broadly predicted psychological health (psychological well-being, life satisfaction, and depressive and anxiety symptoms), even when controlling for potentially related constructs (reappraisal, rumination, and other mindfulness facets including observing, describing, acting with awareness, and nonreactivity). Next, in a laboratory study (Study 2, N = 156), habitual acceptance predicted lower negative (but not positive) emotional responses to a standardized stressor. Finally, in a longitudinal design (Study 3, N = 222), acceptance predicted lower negative (but not positive) emotion experienced during daily stressors that, in turn, accounted for the link between acceptance and psychological health 6 months later. This link between acceptance and psychological health was unique to accepting mental experiences and was not observed for accepting situations. Additionally, we ruled out potential confounding effects of gender, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and life stress severity. Overall, these results suggest that individuals who accept rather than judge their mental experiences may attain better psychological health, in part because acceptance helps them experience less negative emotion in response to stressors. © 2018 American Psychological Association.

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Registry

Crossref · 10.1037/pspp0000157

Cites

84 of 84 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Claims the paper makes

8 of 33 cited sources checked · 3 supported · 2 flagged · accuracy not yet measured

  • Premisecitation

    Acceptance has been shown to be an independent factor from other mindfulness facets.

    “it has been shown to be its own independent factor (Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006)”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006 source

      In the General Discussion (p. 16), acceptance-related items did not meet the criteria for a distinct factor because they loaded similarly on multiple factors. The authors instead describe nonjudging and nonreactivity as possible ways to operationalize acceptance, rather than establishing acceptance as an independent facet. (LLM, conf=0.86)

      Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Premisecitation

    Experimental studies found that participants instructed to engage in acceptance, compared with comparison conditions, during a negative emotion induction experienced less negative emotion.

    “Other studies have provided causal evidence, finding that participants who were asked to engage in acceptance (vs. comparison conditions) during a negative emotion induction experienced less negative emotion (Campbell-Sills et al., 2006; Dunn, Billotti, Murphy, & Dalgleish, 2009; Feldner et al., 2003; Huffziger & Kuehner, 2009; Kuehner, Huffziger, & Liebsch, 2009; Levitt, Brown, Orsillo, & Barlow,”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Campbell-Sills et al., 2006 source
    • cites Dunn, Billotti, Murphy, & Dalgleish, 2009 source

      In Results > Distressing video (page not available), the paper reports no significant group difference in negative-emotion ratings during the film; acceptance did not produce less negative emotion than the control condition. In Results > Mood change, the acceptance group instead showed increased negative affect in the following week relative to the control group. (LLM, conf=0.92)

      Checked by a reasoning model — may be wrong.

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
    • cites Feldner et al., 2003 source
  • Premisecitation

    Acceptance makes unique contributions to psychological health beyond other mindfulness facets such as observing, describing, acting with awareness, and non-reactivity.

    “recent research suggests that acceptance makes unique contributions to psychological health, above and beyond other elements of mindfulness (e.g., observing present-moment experiences, describing internal experiences, acting with awareness, and non-reactivity to inner experiences) (Thompson & Waltz, 2010; Vujanovic et al., 2009).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Thompson & Waltz, 2010 source
    • cites Vujanovic et al., 2009 source

      The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that acceptance was uniquely associated with posttraumatic stress symptoms independently of the other mindfulness dimensions studied. The claim broadens this finding to psychological health generally, whereas the study examined trauma-exposed adults without axis I psychopathology. The paper assessed observing, describing, and acting with awareness, but not non-reactivity. (LLM, conf=0.88)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Premisecitation

    A lack of ill-being does not mean the presence of well-being.

    “less ill-being is not redundant with greater well-being (Ryff & Keyes, 1995)”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Ryff & Keyes, 1995 source
  • Premisecitation

    Laboratory studies found that people higher in habitual acceptance who were exposed to a negative emotion induction experienced lower negative emotion.

    “Individuals who habitually accept their mental experiences more (vs. less), and who were then exposed to a negative emotion induction, experienced lower levels of negative emotion.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Feldner, Zvolensky, Eifert, & Spira, 2003 source
    • cites Karekla, Forsyth, & Kelly, 2004 source
    • cites Feldman, Lavalle, Gildawie, & Greeson, 2016 source

      In Study 1 (Method and Results; page unavailable), participants completed a stressful mirror-tracing task, and higher non-judging—a measure of acceptance—buffered the relationship between heart-rate increases and increases in negative affect. The claim omits that this finding was conditional on physiological arousal: the Discussion says differences in emotional reactivity were not evident among participants whose heart rates fell. It also calls the stress task a negative-emotion induction, which is less precise than the paper’s description. (LLM, conf=0.85)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 20
  • May combine two claims. 41
  • The quote only partly states this claim. 1

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

    Study design and conductcitation

    The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) is a commonly used instrument for habitual acceptance, covering acceptance of both emotions and thoughts.

    “The FFMQ is a widely-used measure of habitual acceptance that assesses acceptance of emotions (e.g., I tell myself I shouldn’t be feeling the way that I’m feeling) and thoughts (e.g., I tell myself I shouldn’t be thinking the way that I’m thinking).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim1 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006 source

      The Exploratory Factor Analyses (p. 9) mark both quoted emotion- and thought-related items for inclusion in the five-factor questionnaire, and the General Discussion (p. 16) describes nonjudging as a way to operationalize acceptance. But the paper presents the FFMQ as a multifaceted mindfulness measure, not an acceptance measure overall; the General Discussion (p. 17) says it requires further validation and may be useful in future research, rather than establishing that it was widely used. (LLM, conf=0.87)

      Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The association between acceptance and psychological health was specific to accepting mental experiences and was not found for accepting situations.

    “This link between acceptance and psychological health was unique to accepting mental experiences and was not observed for accepting situations.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In Sample C, acceptance correlated negatively with brooding rumination (r = −.58) and, less strongly, with reflective rumination (r = −.33).

    “Acceptance was negatively correlated with the brooding component of rumination (r = −.58, in Sample C), and (to a lesser extent) with the reflection component of rumination (r = −.33, in Sample C).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

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

    Findingown data

    In Sample B, gender moderated the acceptance-trait anxiety link (β = −.10, p = .043).

    “and in sample B, the link between acceptance and trait anxiety was moderated by gender, β = −.10, p = .043.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    After adjusting for reappraisal, acceptance still correlated significantly with psychological well-being, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and trait anxiety in all three samples.

    “When controlling for reappraisal in each of the three samples, the correlations between acceptance and psychological health remained significant for all indices of psychological health: psychological well-being, satisfaction with life, depressive symptoms, and trait anxiety (see Table 3).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    After adjusting for both rumination components, acceptance still correlated significantly with psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, and trait anxiety, while its link with life satisfaction became marginal (p = .054).

    “When simultaneously controlling for the brooding and reflection components of rumination, the correlations between acceptance and psychological health remained significant for psychological well-being, depressive symptoms, trait anxiety, and the correlation with satisfaction with life became marginal (p = .054, see Table 3).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    After adjusting for the four other mindfulness facets, acceptance still correlated significantly with psychological well-being, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, and trait anxiety in all three samples.

    “When simultaneously controlling for the four other mindfulness facets in each of the three samples, the correlations between acceptance and psychological health remained significant for all indices of psychological health: psychological well-being, satisfaction with life, depressive symptoms, and trait anxiety.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In Study 3 (N=222), acceptance predicted lower negative emotion during daily stressors, but not positive emotion.

    “Finally, in a longitudinal design (Study 3, N=222), acceptance predicted lower negative (but not positive) emotion experienced during daily stressors that, in turn, accounted for the link between acceptance and psychological health six months later.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In Study 2 (N=156), habitual acceptance predicted lower negative emotional responses to a standardized stressor, but did not predict positive emotional responses.

    “Next, in an laboratory study (Study 2, N=156), habitual acceptance predicted lower negative (but not positive) emotional responses to a standardized stressor.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In Study 1 preliminary analyses, the three emotion-acceptance items and five thought-acceptance items were very highly correlated (rs > .79), and their associations with psychological health were comparable (average r = .41 for both).

    “We found that the three emotion acceptance items were very highly correlated with the five thought acceptance items (rs > .79), and the associations between emotion acceptance and psychological health (rs range = .24 – .55, average r = .41) were comparable to the associations between thought acceptance and psychological health (rs range: .24 – .54, average r = .41).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Acceptance predicted lower negative emotion across ethnicity and SES levels, with small and non-significant moderations (βs < .04, ps > .608).

    “Acceptance consistently predicted lower negative emotion across different levels of ethnicity and SES, as indicated by small and non-significant moderations by ethnicity and SES, βs < .04, ps > .608.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The association between acceptance and psychological health held when demographic and stress variables were controlled and did not vary across their levels.

    “we found that the link between acceptance and psychological health was robust when controlling for demographic (gender, ethnicity, SES) and stress variables, and was consistent across different levels of demographic and stress variables.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Acceptance predicted lower negative emotion at all examined levels of gender, ethnicity, SES, and stress, with no significant moderation.

    “Acceptance consistently predicted lower negative emotion across different levels of gender, ethnicity, SES, and stress as indicated by non-significant moderations by gender, ethnicity, SES, and stress, Bs < .04, ps > .231.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The mediation was complete for satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms, and incomplete for psychological well-being, trait anxiety, and social anxiety symptoms.

    “The mediation was full for two indices of psychological health (satisfaction with life and depressive symptoms) and was partial for the other three indices (psychological well-being, trait anxiety, social anxiety symptoms).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

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

    Findingown data

    Positive emotion rose slightly from baseline to stress task (M=3.10 to 3.35, t(155)=2.36, p=.020, d=0.21).

    “A paired-sample t-test comparing positive emotion experienced during the baseline task (M=3.10, SD=1.08) and during the stress task (M=3.35, SD=1.27) indicated that levels of positive emotion were elevated to a small degree during the stressor, t(155) = 2.36, p = .020, Cohen’s d = 0.21.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    This null result held for high- and low-arousal positive emotions and in both the laboratory stressor and daily life.

    “The same result held whether those positive emotions were high in arousal (e.g., excitement) or low in arousal (e.g., contented), and whether those emotions were evoked be the laboratory stressor (Study 2) or recorded in daily life (Study 3).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Acceptance was modestly related to greater reappraisal, but its links with psychological health remained significant when reappraisal was controlled across three samples and up to six indices.

    “although acceptance was modestly correlated with greater reappraisal, the links between acceptance and psychological health remained significant when controlling for reappraisal across three independent samples and up to six indices of psychological health.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

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

    Findingown data

    In Study 3, ethnicity (β = .16, p = .047) and SES (β = .17, p = .013) moderated the acceptance-social anxiety link.

    “Only two analyses were significant: the link between acceptance and social anxiety was moderated by ethnicity, β = .16, p = .047, and SES, β = .17, p = .013.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The acceptance-negative emotion link remained significant after adjusting for ethnicity and SES (pr = −.19, p = .028) and after also adjusting for baseline negative emotion (pr = −.17, p = .048).

    “The link between acceptance and negative emotion remained also significant when simultaneously controlling for ethnicity and SES using partial correlations, pr = −.19, p = .028, and when simultaneously controlling for baseline negative emotion in addition to ethnicity and SES, pr = −.17, p = .048.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Acceptance predicted neither higher-arousal positive emotion (r = −.03, p = .743) nor lower-arousal positive emotion (r = .12, p = .145).

    “We found that acceptance predicted neither higher arousal positive emotion (i.e., excited and energetic), r = −.03, p = .743, nor lower arousal positive emotion (i.e., calm and contented), r = .12, p = .145.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    The association between acceptance and negative emotional responses to stressors held when demographic and stress variables were controlled and did not vary across their levels.

    “we found that the link between acceptance and negative emotional to stressors was robust when controlling for demographic and stress variables, and was consistent across different levels of demographic and stress variables.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In the present studies, accepting situations was uncorrelated with accepting mental experiences and predicted neither negative emotion nor psychological health.

    “Indeed, in the present studies, we found that accepting situations was not correlated with accepting mental experiences and that accepting situations predicted neither negative emotion nor psychological health.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • The quote only partly states this claim.

    Findingown data

    After adjusting for gender, ethnicity, SES, and stress, acceptance still correlated significantly with psychological health in Study 3.

    “When controlling for gender, ethnicity (European American vs. non-European American), SES, and stress using partial correlations, the links between acceptance and psychological health remained significant (see Table 2).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The self-reported cumulative stress measure validly captures life stress.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    Acceptance was moderately related to lower rumination (brooding and reflection), but its links with psychological health remained significant-and in one case marginal-when rumination was controlled.

    “Similarly, although acceptance was moderately correlated with lower rumination (both brooding and reflection), the links between acceptance and psychological health remained significant – and in one case marginal – when controlling for rumination.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Acceptance and rumination are related but not redundant constructs.

    “The size of these correlations suggests that acceptance and rumination are related but not redundant constructs.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Overall, people who accept rather than judge their mental experiences may have better psychological health, partly because acceptance reduces negative emotion in response to stressors.

    “Overall, these results suggest that individuals who accept rather than judge their mental experiences may attain better psychological health, in part because acceptance helps them experience less negative emotion in response to stressors.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Positive and negative emotions are distinct, and positive emotion plays a distinct part in adapting well to stressors.

    “Positive emotion is not redundant with negative emotion and has been shown to have a unique role in adapting to stressors successfully (Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000; Fredrickson, 2001).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Folkman & Moskowitz, 2000 source
    • cites Fredrickson, 2001 source

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

    Study design and conductown data

    Studies 1 and 3 adjusted for the severity of life stress.

    “in Studies 1 and 3, we controlled for life stress severity.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The acceptance-psychological health links were consistent across diverse groups and stress levels.

    “Overall, thus, we can conclude that the links between acceptance and psychological health were consistent across diverse groups of individuals and across different levels of stress.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Daily stressors occur frequently, and responses to them accumulate to strongly affect well-being.

    “daily stressors are very common, and how people respond to them exerts strong cumulative effects on well-being (Almeida, 2005).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Almeida, 2005 source

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Whether accepting situations helps or harms may depend on how actively or passively people accept them, according to theory and prior research.

    “Both theory and research suggest that the acceptance of situations can be maladaptive or adaptive depending on how people engage in acceptance (e.g., active versus passive acceptance of the situation) (Carver & Scheier, in press; Nakamura & Orth, 2005).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Carver & Scheier, in press

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

    • cites Nakamura & Orth, 2005 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Ostafin et al. (2014) found that undergraduates higher in habitual acceptance reported less negative emotion to negative images, which partially accounted for fewer concurrent anxiety symptoms.

    “undergraduate students who reported higher habitual acceptance reported less negative emotion in response to several negative images in a laboratory task, which in turn partially accounted for fewer concurrent anxiety symptoms (Ostafin et al., 2014).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Ostafin et al., 2014 source

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

    Interpretationreasoning

    Given how often negative mental experiences occur, people's way of relating to them can strongly affect daily life and may accumulate into longer-term effects.

    “Because negative emotions and thoughts are very common, the way individuals approach those experiences has great power to shape individuals’ day-to-day lives, with possible cumulative effects on longer-term outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: Negative emotions and thoughts are very common.

  • May combine two claims.

    Study design and conductreasoning

    Habitual acceptance was measured before the mediator, and psychological health was measured six months after it, so the design established temporal ordering.

    “Habitual acceptance was assessed several days before our mediator, and psychological health was assessed six months after our mediator; as such, our design captures the temporal sequence of our hypotheses.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Acceptance appears to affect negative emotions during stressors most strongly and to leave positive emotions during stressors largely unchanged.

    “acceptance appears to act most strongly on the negative emotions experienced during stressors, and leave positive emotions experienced during stressors relatively unchanged.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

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

    Study design and conductown data

    In Study 2, after exclusions, the final sample size was 156.

    “Prior to data analysis, participants were excluded from analyses if they did not provide responses for the acceptance measure and reactivity emotion measure (1%), or if they failed the attention check provided within the questionnaire (1%). The final sample size was 156.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

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

    Study design and conductcitation

    Acceptance in Study 2 was measured with a shortened, previously validated 5-item version of the FFMQ.

    “Acceptance was measured with a shortened and previously validated 5-item version of the scale used in Study 1 (FFMQ; Bohlmeijer, Klooster, Fledderus, Veehof, & Baer, 2011).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Bohlmeijer, Klooster, Fledderus, Veehof, & Baer, 2011 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The association between accepting mental experiences and psychological well-being had the same size with and without controlling for accepting situations, indicating a unique prediction.

    “This correlation was the same magnitude as when not controlling for accepting situations, r = .38, p < .001, suggesting that accepting mental experiences uniquely predicts psychological well-being above and beyond the possible influence of accepting situations.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationnone given

    Study 3 repeated and extended Studies 1 and 2 by testing a mediation model in a longitudinal daily diary design.

    “Study 3 replicated and extended the findings from Studies 1 and 2 by testing a mediation model within a longitudinal and daily diary design.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductcitation

    Emotional reactivity in Study 2 was measured in response to a well-validated stress induction.

    “Then, approximately four days later, participants completed a laboratory session in which emotional reactivity was measured in response to a well-validated stress induction (Kirschbaum, Pirke, & Hellhammer, 1993; Mauss, Wilhelm, & Gross, 2003, 2004).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Kirschbaum, Pirke, & Hellhammer, 1993

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

    • cites Mauss, Wilhelm, & Gross, 2003, 2004

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

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

    Study design and conductown data

    In Study 3, diary completion rates were good: 79% completed at least 10 days, 17% completed 5-9 days, and 4% completed fewer than five diaries.

    “Diary completion rates were good; 79% filled out at least 10 days of diaries, 17% filled out between 5 and 9 days of diaries, and 4% filled out less than five diaries.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The tendency to accept rather than judge one's mental experiences is a fundamental individual difference that should have important downstream consequences.

    “The tendency to accept versus judge one’s mental experiences represents a fundamental individual difference that should have key implications for downstream outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationnone given

    How people approach their mental experiences-accepting or judging them-can shape daily life and may have cumulative effects on longer-term psychological outcomes.

    “We propose that the ways in which individuals approach their mental experiences – accepting or judging them – has power to shape individuals’ day-to-day lives, with possible cumulative effects for longer-term psychological outcomes.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Demographic features and stress do not explain the acceptance-psychological health link.

    “In addition, the link between acceptance of mental experiences and psychological health was robust when controlling for gender, ethnicity, SES and stress, suggesting that demographic features and stress do not account for the link between acceptance and psychological health.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The self-reported cumulative stress measure validly captures life stress.

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

    Study design and conductcitation

    In Study 3, a guided-recall procedure was used to reduce bias in identifying the most stressful event.

    “This guided-recall procedure was used to reduce bias in the types of events that individuals identified as the most stressful event (Almeida, Wethington, & Kessler, 2002).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Almeida, Wethington, & Kessler, 2002 source

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

    Study design and conductcitation

    In Study 3, acceptance was assessed with the nonjudgment subscale of the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS).

    “The degree to which individuals habitually accept their mental experiences was assessed using the nonjudgment subscale of the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS; Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Acceptance may help healthy individuals and may benefit many facets of psychological health.

    “Rather, acceptance may be beneficial even for healthy individuals and across a broad range of facets of psychological health.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

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

    Study design and conductown data

    In Study 3, after exclusions, the final sample size was 222.

    “Participants were excluded from analyses if they did not complete the acceptance measure (1%), if they did not complete any portion of the daily diary element of the study (27%, due to only a subsample of original participants, N=247, being invited to complete the daily diary element of the study), or if they did not complete at least one of the longitudinal measures of psychological health (7%).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

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

    Study design and conductnone given

    The present studies used widely used and validated measures of acceptance.

    “we employed widely used and validated measures of acceptance to understand the implications of individual differences in the tendency to accept one’s mental experiences.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Acceptance helps people feel less negative emotion without reducing positive emotion.

    “Our findings suggest that while acceptance helps individuals experience less negative emotion, there is no ‘collateral damage’ in terms of less positive emotion.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The observed association between acceptance and lower negative emotion is not due to unmeasured confounding.

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

    Study design and conductcitation

    Rumination was assessed in Sample C with the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS).

    “Rumination was assessed in Sample C only, using the Ruminative Response Scale (RRS; Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Nolen-Hoeksema & Morrow, 1991 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The advantages of acceptance were limited to accepting mental experiences and did not apply to accepting situations.

    “Replicating Study 1, we also found that the benefits of acceptance were specific to accepting mental experiences and did not extend to accepting situations.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Judging and trying to control mental experiences can lead to worse emotional experiences and worse psychological health.

    “Our results caution against the Stoic approach, finding that judging and striving to control mental experiences, like emotion, can result in worse emotional experiences and worse psychological health.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

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

    Study design and conductown data

    Reappraisal was assessed in all three samples with the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ).

    “Reappraisal was assessed in all three samples, using the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (Gross & John, 2003) which includes six items assessing the habitual use of cognitive reappraisal.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Gross & John, 2003 source

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    Acceptance seems to reduce negative emotions specifically, which are the emotions most likely to rise during stressors.

    “Rather, acceptance appears to specifically attenuate the experience of negative emotions, the emotions most likely to be heightened during stressors.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationown data

    The present studies provide replicated evidence that acceptance's psychological health benefits are wide-reaching, apply to diverse people, withstand potential confounds, and are partly due to acceptance helping people feel less negative emotion in response to stressors.

    “the present studies provide replicated evidence that the psychological health benefits of acceptance are wide-reaching, apply to diverse individuals, are robust to potential confounds, and are at least in part due to the role of acceptance in helping individuals experience less negative emotion in response to stressors.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
56 of 56

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Negative emotions and thoughts are very common.

    “Because negative emotions and thoughts are very common”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The self-reported cumulative stress measure validly captures life stress.

    “Cumulative stress experienced in the past six months was assessed with the full version of the same scale used in Study 1 Sample C.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The observed association between acceptance and lower negative emotion is not due to unmeasured confounding.

    “By holding the objective stressor constant across participants, the present results provide evidence that acceptance helps individuals experience less negative emotion rather than the other way around.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Maintaining positive emotion during stress is an important contributor to psychological health.

    “although maintaining positive emotion in the face of stress is an important contributor to psychological health, acceptance may not help with maintaining or increasing the experience of positive emotion.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Acceptance is a facet of the broader construct of mindfulness.

    “Acceptance also is a facet of the broader construct of mindfulness and as such, it is important to consider the role that the other facets of mindfulness may play in the link between acceptance and psychological health.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The daily emotional experiences fostered by acceptance accumulate over time and shape psychological health.

    “We proposed that an extended assessment of daily life represents a particularly powerful method for testing a mediator because the daily emotional experiences fostered by acceptance should accumulate over time and shape individuals’ psychological health.”
6 of 6

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Other conceptualizations of non-judging emphasize foregoing only counterproductive evaluations.

    “Nonetheless, other conceptualizations of non-judging emphasize foregoing only counterproductive evaluations (Robins and Chapman, 2004; Ford et al., 2018).”

    From Aspects of acceptance: building a shared conceptual understanding (2024) · cites this paper as Ford et al., 2018

    In the introductory discussion, Ford et al. contrast accepting negative emotions and thoughts with judging them as unacceptable or “bad.” Study 1’s Method likewise measures judgments such as telling oneself one should not feel a particular way. These passages support foregoing negative judgments of mental experiences, but do not establish the claim’s narrower distinction that non-judging forgoes only counterproductive evaluations while retaining other evaluations. (LLM, conf=0.79)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • Consistentt(155) = 10.91reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “t(155) = 10.91, p < .001”

  • Consistentt(155) = 2.36reported p = .02 · recomputed p = .020

    “t(155) = 2.36, p = .020”

  • Consistentt(155) = 11.92reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “t(155)=11.92, p < .001”

  • Consistentt(155) = 11.64reported p < .001 · recomputed p < .001

    “t(155)=11.64, p < .001”

4 of 4

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Study 1 discussion overlooks significant moderation results

    Minor

    The discussion says none of the links was significantly moderated in any sample, but the results report significant moderation by ethnicity in Sample A and by gender in Sample B.

  • Situational acceptance did predict one health outcome

    Minor

    The general discussion says situational acceptance predicted no psychological-health outcome, but Study 3 reports a significant positive association with psychological well-being.

  • Sample B moderation refers to a measure assigned to Sample C

    Minor

    The results identify a Sample B moderation involving trait anxiety, while the methods assign the trait-anxiety inventory to Sample C. Sample B is described as using a different set of anxiety items.

3 of 3

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

3 of the 87 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Ford, B. Q., Lam, P., John, O. P., & Mauss, I. B.
Affiliations
  • University of Toronto (CA)
  • University of California, Berkeley (US)
ORCID
Venue
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Publisher
American Psychological Association (APA)
Published
2018-12
Volume
115
Issue
6
Pages
1075-1092
ISSN
  • 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
  • 1939-1315
DOI
10.1037/pspp0000157
PMC
PMC5767148
OpenAlex
W2736191584
Cited by
264
References
87
Citations by year
2026: 30 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 42 · 2023: 38 · 2022: 34 · 2021: 28 · 2020: 14 · 2019: 19 · 2018: 10
FWCI
14.55
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion, other-oa)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Health (AG031967; AG043592)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychological Well-being and Life Satisfaction
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Keywords
negative emotions, mental health, psychological well-being, life satisfaction, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, stress response, daily hassles, mindfulness, rumination, cognitive reappraisal
MeSH terms
Diaries as Topic, Adaptation, Psychological, Adult, Awareness, Emotions, Female, Humans, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Mental Health, Middle Aged, Personal Satisfaction, Stress, Psychological, Young Adult, Mindfulness

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-09-28.

Classified by jev-1.13-20260917 (gold-guideline-v0.2) on 2026-09-28.

Cited sources are checked by gpt-6-sol.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

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