Experiential Avoidance, Mindfulness and Depression in Spinal Cord Injuries: A Preliminary Study
Open accessAbstract
This preliminary study sought to explore the link between depression, experiential avoidance and mindfulness in people with a spinal cord injury (SCI). We surveyed patients listed on the SCI database at Royal Perth Hospital who had experienced an injury over the last 10 years. Respondents (62) completed a questionnaire including the depression subscale of the Depression Anxiety Stress Scale, the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ-2; Bond et al., 2007) and the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS; Brown & Ryan, 2003). Thirty per cent of participants scored above the cut-off for possible depression, with equal numbers experiencing mild, moderate or severe depression. Mindfulness and experiential avoidance were significantly associated with depression, and were intercorrelated. Further, regression analysis indicated that experiential avoidance mediated the relationship between depression and mindfulness. Our preliminary data suggest that individuals with SCI who are more mindful use less avoidance and have a more positive mood. These results indicate further work in this area is warranted.
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Mindfulness may help individuals tolerate and approach their emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations more openly, reducing efforts to escape from negative experiences through avoidance and suppression.
“mindfulness may help individuals tolerate and approach their emotions, thoughts, and bodily sensations more openly, reducing the conscious or unconscious efforts to escape from negative experiences through avoidance and suppression [70–74].”
From Emotion Regulation as a Mechanism of Mindfulness in Individual Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Depression and Anxiety Disorders (2024) · cites this paper as [71]
The finding that avoidance mediates changes in anxiety aligns with prior research.
“Likewise, the finding that avoidance mediates changes in anxiety symptoms aligns with prior research [61, 71].”
From Emotion Regulation as a Mechanism of Mindfulness in Individual Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Depression and Anxiety Disorders (2024) · cites this paper as [71]
Cross-sectional work has demonstrated positive associations between mindfulness and mood in people with spinal cord injury.
“For example, cross-sectional work has demonstrated positive associations between mindfulness and mood in people with SCI [17].”
From Mindfulness for pain, depression, anxiety, and quality of life in people with spinal cord injury: A systematic review (2020) · cites this paper as [17]
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- Authors
- Skinner, T. C., Roberton, T., Allison, G. T., Dunlop, S., & Bucks, R. S.
- Affiliations
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
- Curtin University (AU)
- Corresponding author
- Skinner, Timothy C.
- Venue
- The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling
- Publisher
- Cambridge University Press (CUP)
- Published
- 2010-05-01
- Volume
- 16
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 27-35
- ISSN
- 1323-8922 (ISSN-L)
- 1838-6059
- OpenAlex
- W2073193585
- Cited by
- 26
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 2 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 1.06
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- figshare.com
- Locations
- Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling (publishedVersion)
- eCite Digital Repository (University of Tasmania) (submittedVersion)
- UWA Profiles and Research Repository (UWA) (submittedVersion)
- eSpace (Curtin University) (submittedVersion)
- Figshare (submittedVersion, cc-by)
- Figshare (submittedVersion)
- Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Pathology and Forensic Medicine › Spinal Cord Injury Research
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- spinal cord injury, depression, experiential avoidance, mindfulness, Acceptance and Action Questionnaire, Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, DASS, mediation, mood
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