Mindfulness training reduces neuroticism over a 6-year longitudinal randomized control trial in Norwegian medical and psychology students

Reducing neuroticism in young adults is likely to reduce future psychopathology and improve quality of life. One method of reducing neuroticism may be mindfulness training. This randomized control study examined the effect of mindfulness training on neuroticism and psychological distress over a six-year time period in a sample of Norwegian medical and clinical psychology students receiving either a modified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) training (n = 144) or no intervention (n = 144).

Mindfulness training decreased neuroticism and psychological distress over the six-year follow-up period, and decreases in neuroticism were associated with reduced psychological distress at the six-year follow-up. These findings suggest that mindfulness training can have a durable impact on neuroticism, and that mindfulness-based interventions may effectively reduce clinical symptomology linked with neuroticism.

CITATION:

Hanley, A.W., de Vibe, M., Solhaug, I., Gonzalez-Pons, K. & Garland, E.L. (2019). 
Mindfulness training reduces neuroticism over a 6-year longitudinal randomized control trial in Norwegian medical and psychology students, Journal of Research in Personality, 82,
pp. 103859.

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