Name: Nonreactivity and acting with awareness help explain the positive effects of mindfulness on relationship functioning
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Nonreactivity and acting with awareness help explain the positive effects of mindfulness on relationship functioning

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No Result View All Result No Result View All Result [] Meditation and mindfulness have been well-studied in individual contexts, but significantly less so as they impact relationships. The few studies that have looked at the effects of mindfulness on relationships and sexual satisfaction have suffered from homogenous population samples, which greatly limits their generalizability.This was one of the main goals of a team of researchers from Alabama, USA, whose examined an ethnically and economically diverse group of 847 married and unmarried heterosexual couples. Their findings broaden our understanding of how meditation affects relationship and sexual satisfaction across cultures and economic contexts.The team focused on three subscales of mindfulness: nonreactivity, acting with awareness, and non-judging, based on the Five Facets of Mindfulness Questionnaire.Nonreactivity refers to being able to notice and observe one’s feelings or thoughts without immediately reacting to them. In a similar vein, non-judgement refers to observing a situation impartially and objectively. Finally, acting with awareness requires “turning off one’s [auto-pilot] and behaving purposefully.”All three may seem to have obvious benefits for couples, but interestingly, only nonreactivity and acting with intention were found to correlate with improved relationship experiences. Specifically, nonreactivity related to one’s own and one’s partner’s reports of overall quality in the relationship, while a women’s own and their partner’s ability to act with awareness both boosted women’s reports of sexual satisfaction.These findings seem to indicate that, rather than having very general effects on relationship quality, different aspects of mindfulness may play key roles in distinct elements of the relationship, like sexual satisfaction.It is also intriguing that nonjudgement had no significant effects on any of the relationship measures, although the authors note that another study did draw such a connection and also point to the fact that their questionnaire was individually-focused (“I make judgements about … my thoughts”). Specifically, relationship-oriented non-judgement questions may elicit different responses. The real strength of this study comes from its especially diverse population set, although non-heteronormative relationships were not included, and so future studies will also want to incorporate such relationships for a fuller picture.The positive effects of mindfulness and meditation on relationships are just starting to be understood. While more is known about the relation between mindfulness and individual mental health, and individual mental health and relationship quality, the present study demonstrates that not all facets of mindfulness impact relationships in the same way. Further research will enable couples and therapists to develop better strategies for mending specific attributes of their relationships.The study, ““, was authored by Julianne M. McGill, Leah K. Burke, and Francesca Adler-Baeder. Get all the latest updates on new psychology research with the free PsyPost app. &nbsp; Powered by PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society. () No Result View All Result This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. I Agree

No Result View All Result No Result View All Result [] Meditation and mindfulness have been well-studied in individual contexts, but significantly less so as they impact relationships. The few studies that have looked at the effects of mindfulness on relationships and sexual satisfaction have suffered from homogenous population samples, which greatly limits their generalizability.This was one of the main goals of a team of researchers from Alabama, USA, whose examined an ethnically and economically diverse group of 847 married and unmarried heterosexual couples. Their findings broaden our...

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Christian Rigg

PsyPost is a psychology and neuroscience news website dedicated to reporting the latest research on human behavior, cognition, and society.  We are not interested in re-writing press releases from universities. We are not interested in over-generalizing or mischaracterizing research to get more clicks. We are not interested in confirming or disproving ideological beliefs. We are only interested in accurately reporting research about how humans think and behave. And we only report on research that has been published in legitimate, peer-reviewed scientific journals.

Nonreactivity and acting with awareness help explain the positive effects of mindfulness on relationship functioning

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