Brian Thompson, PhD, & Jennifer Waltz, PhDACBS World Conference

June 24, 2010

Criterion A: Trauma exposure. Criterion B: Reexperiencing symptoms. Criterion C: Avoidance and Emotional

Numbing symptoms. Criterion D: Hyperarousal symptoms. Criterion E: Symptoms > 1 month. Criterion F: Clinically significant impairment

across areas of functioning.

An unwillingness to remain in contact with and taking steps to alter private experiences (e.g., thoughts, emotions, physiological sensations).◦ EA and PTSD (Polusny & Follette, 1995; Rosenthal, Hall, Palm,

Batten, & Follette, 2005; Tull, Gratz, Salters, & Roemer, 2004; Vujanovic,

Youngwirth, Johnson, & Zvolensky, 2009).

In PTSD literature:◦ Alexithymia (e.g., Badura, 2003; Frewen et al., 2008; Fukunishi et

al., 1996 Kosten et al., 1992; Söndergaard & Theorell, 2004; Stewart et al., 2002).

◦ Thought suppression (e.g., Mayou, Ehlers, & Bryant, 2002; Shipherd & Beck, 1999, 2005; Steil & Ehlers, 2000).

◦ Avoidant Coping (e.g., Gil, 2005; Scarpa, Haden, & Hurley,

2006).

Two components◦ Contact with present moment◦ Acceptance/Willingness

Antithetical to experiential avoidance

Hypotheses:

◦ PTSD avoidance symptom severity will be related to higher experiential avoidance and lower mindfulness.

◦ Mindfulness will predict the variance in PTSD avoidance symptom severity above and beyond that of experiential avoidance.

Measures◦ Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS; Foa,

Cashman, Jaycox, & Perry, 1997).◦ Five-Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer,

Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006).◦ Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (AAQ; Hayes at al.,

2004). ◦ Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20; Bagby, Parker, &

Taylor, 1994a, 1994b).◦ White Bear Suppression Inventory (WBSI; Wegner &

Zanakos, 1994). ◦ Coping in Stressful Situations (CISS; Endler & Parker,

1994).

Participants◦ 378 Introductory Psychology students.

PTSD (n = 44); trauma-no PTSD (n = 147); control (n = 123)

PSS group (n = 191)

Pearson Product-Moment Correlation Coefficients for PDS PSS Sample___________________________________________________________Measures PDS Avoidance___________________________________________________________FFMQ Observe .05FFMQ Describe -.18*FFMQ Act -.32**FFMQ Nonjudge -.37**FFMQ Nonreact -.20**AAQ .34**WBSI .42**TAS Factor 1 .48**TAS Factor 2 .32**TAS Factor 3 .05CISS Emotion .39**CISS Avoidance -.03_____________________________________________________________* p < .05, ** p < .01

The AAQ and FFMQ.◦ AAQ [p < .01, adjusted R² = .11] ◦ AAQ and FFMQ: [p < .01; adjusted R² = .17]

The TAS-20 Factors 1 and FFMQ.◦ TAS-20 Factor 1 (identify feelings) [p < .01, adjusted R² =

.23] ◦ TAS and FFMQ: [p < .01; adjusted R² = .25]

The WBSI and FFMQ.◦ WBSI [p < .01, adjusted R² = .18] ◦ WBSI and FFMQ: [p < .01; adjusted R² = .21]

The CISS emotional coping and FFMQ.◦ CISS emotion oriented [p < .01, adjusted R² = .15] ◦ CISS and FFMQ: [p < .01; adjusted R² = .19]

PTSD avoidance symptoms were positively correlated with measures of experiential avoidance and negatively correlated with mindfulness.

Mindfulness—particularly, acceptance or nonjudgment of experience—predicted additional variance above and beyond experiential avoidance.

Undergraduate sample. Self-report PTSD measure. Cross-sectional design.

Thompson, B. L.. & Waltz, J. (2010). Mindfulness and experiential avoidance as predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder avoidance symptom severity. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 24, 409-415.

brian.l.thompson@gmail.com