How Emotion Regulation Mediates the Relationship Between Dispositional Mindfulness, Depression, and Complicated Grief Among the Bereaved Population

Bereavement is a significant and stressful event that has a profound impact and can cause physical and psychological illness for the bereaved. To clarify the mechanisms underlying recovery from bereavement grief, the present study examines the relationship between dispositional mindfulness, difficulties with emotion regulation, and depressive, complicated grief.

Five hundred and nine bereaved Taiwanese participants completed the measures of dispositional mindfulness, grief, depression, and difficulties with emotion regulation scales, as well as the inventory of complicated grief. Mediation analyses were performed to explain the relationships between the variables. Two models were performed to test the hypotheses; one explored difficulties with emotion regulation as a mediator between dispositional mindfulness and depression, and the other explored the same mediator but employed complicated grief instead of depression as the dependent variable.

The results showed that dispositional mindfulness was negatively related to depression, difficulties with emotion regulation, and complicated grief among the bereaved population. Emotion regulation fully mediated the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and depression but only partially mediated that between dispositional mindfulness and complicated grief.

This study provides information regarding the possible mechanisms whereby implementing mindfulness-based interventions with bereaved individuals who are suffering difficulties with emotion regulation might be useful. Given the limitations of the research design and participant recruitment, more studies are needed to explore the mechanisms of mindfulness underlying recovery from bereavement grief.