Mindfulness in Orphan and Parentless Adolescents as a Factor of Psychological Well-Being

973

Abstract

The article presents a study of mindfulness as a feature of consciousness in orphan and parentless adolescents. The adolescents’ mindfulness is analysed through their awareness of the ability to achieve positive psychological effects, including psychological well-being and resilience. The study employed the following 9 techniques: the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM); the Resilience Scale; the Self-Compassion Scale; the Toronto Empathy Questionnaire; the Ryff’s Psychological Well-Being Scale; the Gratitude Questionnaire; the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire; the scales for measuring readiness to help and aggression in the classroom; the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).The sample included 20 orphan and parentless adolescents. The study revealed that mindfulness is indeed a factor of psychological well-being. The educators of twenty organizations for orphans and children without parental care assessed the adolescents’ strengths and difficulties in order to evaluate their cognitive emotion regulation abilities.Сorrelation analysis allowed us to identify the relationship of mindfulness, psychological well-being indicators and emotional regulation with a number of social psychological characteristics of personality in the adolescents: indicators of positive psychological effects of mindfulness, in particular, humanity, resilience, competence (environmental management), and decrease of cognitive and emotional reactivity.

General Information

Keywords: mindfulness, psychological well-being, environmental management, resilience, autonomy, empathy, positive refocusing, placement in perspective

Journal rubric: Developmental Psychology

Article type: scientific article

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17759/pse.2019240403

For citation: Shulga T.I. Mindfulness in Orphan and Parentless Adolescents as a Factor of Psychological Well-Being. Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie = Psychological Science and Education, 2019. Vol. 24, no. 4, pp. 36–50. DOI: 10.17759/pse.2019240403. (In Russ., аbstr. in Engl.)

References

  1. Archakova T.O., Veraksa A.N., Zotova O.Yu., Perelygina E.B.Subjective Well-Being in Children: Measurement Tools and Age Dynamics.Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie [ Psychological Science and Education], 2017.Vol.22, no.6, pp.68—76.doi: 10.17759/ pse.2017220606 (In Russ., аbstr.in Engl.)
  2. Vodyakha S.Osobennosti psikhologicheskogo blagopoluchiya starsheklassnikov [Specific features of senior school students’ psychological well-being].Psikhologicheskaya nauka i obrazovanie [Psychological Science and Education], 2013, no.6, pp.114—120.(In Russ., abstr.in Engl.).
  3. Golubev A.M.Priroda polnoty soznaniya.Adaptatsiya oprosnika vnimatel’nosti i osoznannosti MAAS [The nature of the fullness of consciousness.Adaptation of the MAAS questionnaire of mindfulness and awareness].Vestnik NGU. Seriya: Psikhologiya [Bulleten of Novosibirsk State University. Series «Psychologiay»], 2012, no.6 (2), pp.44—51.
  4. Dorosheva E.A.& Golubev A.M.Problematika otsenki aspekta osoznannosti “nablyudenie” [Problems of evaluation of the “observation” aspect of awareness].In Antonets V.et al.(eds.), Nelineynaya dinamika v kognitivnykh issledovaniyakh: Trudy Pyatoi Vserossiyskoy konferentsii (Nizhny Novgorod, 2017 g.25-29.09.2017 g.) [Nonlinear dynamics in cognitive studies: Proceedings of the Fifth All-Russian Conference].Nizhny Novgorod: RAS, 2017, pp.90—94.
  5. Zelikson D.I.Vliyanie pozitivnykh psikhologicheskikh interventsii na sub”ektivnoe blagopoluchie podrostkov [Impact of positive psychological interventions on teenagers’ subjective well-being].Rossiiskii psikhologicheskii zhurnal [Russian Psychological Journal], 2015.Vol.12, no.3, pp.33—39.(In Russ., abstr.in Engl.).
  6. Pugovkina O.D., Shil’nikova Z.N.Conzept osoznannosti nespezeficheskiy factor osoznannosti psychologicheskogo blagopolychiya [The concept of mindfulness: nonspecific factor of psychological wellbeing].[Elektronnyi resurs].Sovremennaia zarubezhnaya psihologiya [Journal of Modern Foreign Psychology], 2014.Vol.3, no.2, pp.18—28.(In Russ., аbstr.in Engl.).
  7. Baer R.A., Smith G.T., Hopkins J., Krietemeyer J., Toney L.Ispolzovanie samootsheta otzenki grani factora ocoznannosti.[Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness].Assessment, 2006.Vol.13, no.1, pp.27—45.
  8. Brown K.W., Ryan R.M.The Benefits of Being Present: Osoznannost I ee rol” v psixologii blagopolychiay [Mindfulness and Its Role in Psychological Well-Being].Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2003.Vol. 84, no.4, pp.822—848.
  9. Bishop S.R., Lau M., Shapiro S., Carlson L., Anderson N.D., Carmody J., Segal Z.V., Abbey S., Speca M., Velting D., Devins G.Osoznannost: primenenie opredeeleniay difininichii [Mindfulness: A Proposed Operational Definition].Clinical Psychology: Science & Practice, 2004.Vol.11 (3), pp.230—241.
  10. Segal Z.V., Williams J.M.G., Teasdale J.D.Osoznannost bazovoe sotrudnishestvo kognitivnoy terapiay v depressii [Mindfulness based Cognitive Therapy for Depression].A New Approach to Preventing Relapse. New York, 2002, pp.137—189.
  11. Seligson J.L., Huebner E.S., Valois R.F.An investigation of a brief life satisfaction scale with elementary school children.Social Indicators Research, 2005.Vol.73, no.3, pp.355—374.doi: 10.1007/ s11205-004-2011-3
  12. Davis E., Young D., Waters E., Gold L.Children and Adolescents, Measuring the Quality of Life of.International Encyclopedia of Public Health (2nd ed), 2017, pp.539—545.doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-803678- 5.00066-7
  13. Ellert U., Ravens-Sieberer U., Erhart M., Kurth B.M.Determinants of agreement between self-reported and parent-assessed quality of life for children in Germany-results of the German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Children and Adolescents (KiGGS).Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2011, no.9, p.102.doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-9-102
  14. Erhart M., Ellert U., Kurth B.-M., Ravens-Sieberer U.Measuring adolescents’ HRQoL via self reports and parent proxy reports: an evaluation of the psychometric properties of both versions of the KINDL-R instrument Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 2009, no.7, p.77.doi: 10.1186/1477-7525-7-77
  15. Ferran C., Gonzalez M., Navarro D.Social Psychology and Child Well-Being.In A.Ben-Arieh et al.(eds.), Handbook of Child Well-Being.Dordrecht: Springer Science+Business Media, 2014, pp.513— 554.doi: 10.1007/978-90-481-9063-8_187
  16. Gutman L.M., Brown J., Akerman R., Obolenskaya P.Change in wellbeing from childhood to adolescence: risk and resilience, 2010 [Electronnyi resurs] URL: http://www.dcsf.gov.uk/research/data/ uploadfiles/DCSF-WBL1001-Brief.pdf (Accessed: 20.06.2019).
  17. Harnett P.H., Reid N., Loxton N.J., Leea N.The relationships between trait mindfulness, personality and psychological distress: A revised reinforcement sensitivity theory perspective.Personality and Individual Differences, 2016.Vol.99, pp.100—105.doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.04.085
  18. Hamill T.S., Pickett S.M., Amsbaugh H.M., Aho K.M.Mindfulness and acceptance in relation to behavioral inhibition system sensitivity and psychological distress.Personality and Individual Differences, 2015, no.72, pp. 24—29.doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2014.08.007
  19. Kabat-Zinn J., Lipworth L., Burncy R.& Sellers W.‘Four-year follow-up of a meditation-based program for the selfregulation of chronic pain: Treatment outcomes and compliance.The Clinical Journal of Pain, 1986.Vol. 2 (3), p.159.
  20. Kabat-Zinn J.Full catastrophe living: Using the wisdom of your body and mind to face stress, pain, and illness.New York: Bantam Books Trade Paperbacks.2013.467 р.
  21. Morone N.E., Greco C.M.& Weiner D.K.Mindfulness meditation for the treatment of chronic low back pain in older adults: A randomized controlled pilot study.Pain, 2008.Vol.134 (3), pp.310—19.
  22. Levin K.A., Currie C.Reliability and Validity of an Adapted Version of the Cantril Ladder for Use with Adolescent Samples.Social Indicators Research, 2013, no.119, p.1047.doi: 10.1007/s11205-013-0507-4
  23. Peterson C.The future of optimism.American Psychologist, 2000.Vol.55, no.1, pp.44—55.doi: 10.1037/0003-066x.55.1.44
  24. Ravens-Sieberer U., Devine J., Bevans K., Riley A.W., Moon J.H., Salsman J.M., Forrest C.B.Subjective well-being measures for children were developed within the PROMIS project: presentation of first results.Journal of Clinical Epidemiology, 2014.Vol. 67, no.2, pp.207—218.
  25. Russell J.A.Core affect and the psychological construction of emotion.Psychological Review, 2003, no.1, p.145.

Information About the Authors

Tatyana I. Shulga, Doctor of Psychology, Professor, Professor, Chair of Social Psychology, Department of Psychology, Moscow Region State University, Moscow, Russia, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3584-6087, e-mail: shulgatatiana@gmail.com

Metrics

Views

Total: 1845
Previous month: 16
Current month: 5

Downloads

Total: 973
Previous month: 6
Current month: 2