Promotive effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction on mental health in new rocket force recruits during assembly training

Abstract

Objective To investigate the effect of mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) on cognitive bias, anxiety and psychological resilience in new recruits of rocket force during assembling training. Methods A total of 174 soldiers were subjected by cluster sampling from a unit of rocket force, and then randomly and equally divided into treatment group and control group. The participants from the treatment group were given MBSR training for 8 weeks, while those of the control group studied military mental health handbook by themselves or through group learning via psychological counselors. Five factor mindfulness questionnaire (FFMQ), attention to positive and negative information scale (APNIS), anxiety sensitive index scale (ASI), state-trait anxiety inventory (STAI), and connor-davidson resilience scale (CD-RISC) were employed to survey the participants before and after intervention. Results ① Before training, the mindfulness level of the participants was positively correlated with psychological resilience and positive cognitive bias (r=0.548, 0.391), and was negatively with negative cognitive bias, anxiety sensitivity, state anxiety and trait anxiety(r=-0.400, -0.280, -0.455, -0.558). ②The mindfulness level showed significant interaction effect between measurement time and grouping (P < 0.05), and MBSR training obviously promoted individual mindfulness level. The positive cognitive bias was significant in interaction effect of measurement time and grouping. The positive cognitive bias was declined in the control group with the elapse of training time (P < 0.05), while it had no significant difference in the treatment group before and after training. Conclusion MBSR training can significantly improve the mindfulness level in new rocket force recruits during assembly training, and alleviate the decreasing tendency of positive cognitive bias with time decreasing, which is of important value to maintain mental health of these new recruits.

Keywords

• mindfulness stress reduction training
• duration of assembly training
• rocket force
• new recruits
• mental health