Mindfulness, Self-distancing, and Self-compassion as Buffers of the Effects of Rumination on Health Behaviors: a Daily Diary Study

Rumination, self-focused thinking about events and emotions negatively and repeatedly, is a common cognitive process that leads to maladaptive health behaviors. Because mindfulness has been shown to reduce the negative psychological effects of rumination in other studies, we posited that it may buffer the association between rumination and maladaptive health behaviors. We tested this hypothesis in two online daily diary studies with college students. Health behavior outcomes included fruit intake, vegetable intake, exercise, alcohol intake, sexual risk-taking behavior, and cigarette smoking. In Study One (N = 285), multivariate modeling analyses demonstrated that trait mindfulness was not a significant moderator of daily rumination to health behavior relationships. In Study Two (N = 157), daily self-compassion and daily self-distancing—but not daily mindfulness—were significant within-person moderators of daily rumination to daily health behaviors. Self-compassion and self-distancing were buffers of the negative effects of rumination on health behaviors. The implications of this research and application to interventions are discussed, including mindfulness interventions that emphasize self-distancing or self-compassion component.