Thought Suppression and Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Study

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of a brief mindfulness intervention on the constructs of mindfulness and thought suppression with undergraduates. The brief mindfulness intervention was comprised of both instructive and hands-on exercises that were manualized in a protocol. A randomized experimental design was utilized in this study. The independent variable (treatment) was deliberately manipulated and the dependent variables were assessed. A no treatment waiting-list control group was used. The 34 participants were randomly assigned to the two conditions and the assignment of treatment condition to groups was done randomly. The results of the study suggested that mindfulness could be increased while thought suppression could be decreased through the use of the brief intervention. This research is particularly meaningful since typical mindfulness interventions are of a longer duration.