The Relationship Between Mindfulness and Dissociation Among Mental Health Service Users: A Cross-Cultural Study with Implications for Nursing Interventions

Dissociation is a prevalent and transdiagnostic symptom among patients in psychiatric settings, thus commonly encountered by psychiatric nurses and other mental health service providers. Dissociation remains a controversial topic in the mental health field. Dissociation is conceptualized as the opposite of mindfulness. This study addressed current research gaps by examining which specific facets of mindfulness would be particularly associated with psychoform dissociative symptoms. We analyzed data from two convenience samples of mental health service users (N = 115 English speakers and N = 118 Chinese speakers). The “Describing,” (r = −0.435 to −0.492), “Acting with awareness,” (r = −0.561) and “Non-judging” (r = −0.436 to −0.623) facets of mindfulness had consistent, negative correlations with dissociative symptoms across the two samples. Hierarchical linear regression analyses further showed that, among different facets of mindfulness, “Acting with awareness” had the stronger, and most consistent, negative associations with dissociative symptoms across the two samples (β = −0.352 to −0.414), after controlling for age, gender, and adverse childhood experiences. We provide novel data showing that the “Acting with awareness” facet of mindfulness is particularly relevant and significant in understanding dissociative symptoms. Implications for mindfulness-based interventions and nursing practice are discussed. Our results inform the design and development of future longitudinal and experimental studies.