Mindfulness and Health

Mindfulness is a state of consciousness in which individuals maintain a nonjudgmental manner of complete awareness of one’s thoughts, emotions, or experiences on a moment-to-moment basis. The key elements of mindfulness include observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judgment of inner experience, and non-reactivity to inner experience. Mindfulness has been found to have many positive effects on physical and mental health, as well as other life outcomes. However, less is known about the antecedents to mindfulness, the mechanisms of mindfulness on health, and efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions.

The goal of this Research Topic is to bring research and empirical attention to antecedents to and mechanisms of mindfulness on health. We also focus on innovative mindfulness-based interventions that target under-studied/under-served populations, adopt innovative intervention approaches, or focus on previously unexamined outcomes. Questions of interest include what predictors are linked to mindfulness, how does mindfulness impact health and mental health outcomes, and in what directions will recent mindfulness interventions lead? This Research Topic integrates theoretical discussions and empirical interventions. We welcome high-quality studies using various research methods, including quantitative, qualitative, mixed-methods, and reviews. 

This special issue seeks manuscripts that:

(1) examine the antecedents to mindfulness, including paths to mindfulness, 

(2) investigate mechanisms of mindfulness on health, or 

(3) examine the cost and efficacy of mindfulness-based interventions on improving health outcomes. 

We welcome interdisciplinary and empirical analyses of above issues. Given that previous research is largely based on Western data, we welcome, but are not limited to, non-Western data in this Research Topic. Manuscripts should present new research findings on the topics. Various methods (e.g., case studies, program evaluation and quantitative analyses) are welcome.