Term of Award
Spring 2027
Degree Name
Doctor of Psychology in Clinical Psychology (Psy.D.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (open access)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Department of Psychology
Committee Chair
Jeffrey Klibert
Committee Member 1
C. Thresa Yancey
Committee Member 2
Rebekah Estevez
Abstract
Anxiety is the most common mental health condition worldwide and contributes to substantial societal costs, personal distress, and impairment (World Health Organization, 2023). Given its high prevalence, low treatment utilization, and modest response rates, identifying protective factors to inform prevention efforts is critical (Mamede et al., 2022; Mendelson & Eaton, 2018). Mindfulness, or the ability to nonjudgmentally pay attention to the present moment, comprises five key facets: observing, describing, acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity (Baer et al., 2006b). Although mindfulness is inversely associated with anxiety, the mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear (Desrosiers et al., 2013). Cognitive reappraisal, defined as reinterpreting emotional stimuli to regulate distress (Gross & John, 2003), may strengthen mindfulness’s protective effects on anxiety symptoms. The impetus of the current study was to examine whether cognitive reappraisal moderates the relationships between mindfulness facet scores and anxiety symptoms. This cross-sectional, correlational study sampled 290 community adults who completed an online survey. Results indicated some gender identity differences in reported levels of anxiety symptoms and Observing and Acting with Awareness mindfulness facet scores. At a correlational level, most mindfulness facet scores were associated with anxiety symptoms in the expected direction. In addition, higher cognitive reappraisal was associated with lower anxiety symptoms and higher scores on each mindfulness facet. Results detected variation in the strength of the relationships between mindfulness facet scores and anxiety symptoms. Moderation models were nonsignificant; however, mediation models revealed that cognitive reappraisal fully mediated the relationship between Nonreactivity and anxiety symptoms. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of examining mindfulness at both global and facet levels to better explain variation within anxiety symptoms. Cognitive reappraisal’s mediating role suggests that the association between Nonreactivity and lower anxiety may operate through adaptive reinterpretation of distressing experiences. Clinically, the results indicate potential value in integrating nonreactivity and cognitive reappraisal strategies and prioritizing facets such as Acting with Awareness and Nonjudging.
Recommended Citation
Pritulsky, C. L. (2026). Mindfulness and anxiety symptoms: The role of cognitive reappraisal in community adults [Doctoral dissertation, Georgia Southern University]. Georgia Southern Commons.
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No
