Effects of mindfulness-based intervention on cognitive reappraisal, positive attention bias and depression in army aviation maintenance personnel

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effects of mindfulness-based intervention on cognitive reappraisal, positive attentional bias and depression in army aviation maintenance personnel. Methods A total of 44 officers and soldiers of an army aviation brigade were selected by cluster sampling and then divided into intervention group (n=22) and control group (n=22).The intervention group received 2 hours'mindfulness intervention course once a week for 8 consecutive weeks, while the control group were given mental health education at same frequency and duration.Then the participants were assessed with self-compiled demographic scales, Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ), Attention to Positive and Negative Information Scale (APNIS), and Self-rating Depression Scale (SDS) before intervention (T1), at the end of the intervention (T2), and 1 month after the intervention (T3), respectively. Results There were no significant differences in the demographic data and psychological indicators between the 2 groups before training.After intervention, the scores of mindfulness level, cognitive reappraisal, positive attention bias and depression were significantly different between the 2 groups in terms of measurement time and group interaction (P < 0.05).The scores of mindfulness level and the cognitive reappraisal scores were greatly higher at T2 and T3 than T1(P < 0.01, P < 0.05), and the positive attention bias score at T2 was also notably higher than that of T1(P < 0.05) in the intervention group.In addition, no significant difference was observed in the depression score at the 3 time points in the intervention group, while in the control group, the score was obviously higher at T3 than T2 and T1(P < 0.05, P < 0.01). Conclusion Mindfulness-based intervention significantly improves the level of mindfulness, cognitive reappraisal and positive attentional bias, and relieves the impact of military training and management on depression of the army aviation officers and soldiers to a certain extent.

Keywords

• mindfulness intervention
• cognitive reappraisal
• positive attentional bias
• depression
• army aviation personnel