Lim, Haikel A.Haikel A.LimRathi, MahendranMahendranRathiProf. TANG So Kum, CatherineCatherineProf. TANG So Kum2021-11-292021-11-292014Lim, H. A., Mahendran, R., & Tang, S. K. (31 Oct -1 Nov 2014). What roles do mindfulness play in the relationship between rumination and help-seeking intentions for emotional distress?. Academic Psychiatry Conference 2014, NUHS Tower Block Auditorium.http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11861/6782Introduction<br> Individuals who need help are very often the ones who believe that seeking, much less accepting, help is an admission of failure. Such delays in help-seeking for emotional distress often result in dire, and sometimes even fatal, consequences. Studies have highlighted that those prone to rumination—the tendency to respond to distress by repetitively focussing on the depressive symptoms, meanings, and consequences—often report low helpseeking intentions and behaviours. Mindfulness—attentive and non-judgemental metacognitive monitoring of momentby-moment experiences without fi xation on thoughts about the past—however, is often touted as key to combating ruminative tendencies. In the present study, we therefore sought to examine these relationships in college-going students, who may be more susceptible to the consequences of delays in help-seeking for emotional distress. Because the literature is virtually non-existent, we hypothesised that mindfulness would both mediate (strengthen) and moderate (alter) the rumination-help-seeking relationship.<br> Methods<br> A total of 179 ethnically Chinese undergraduate students (45% women; Mage = 21.8 years, age range = 19 to 25 years; 88% Chinese; 71% affi liated with a religion) from the National University of Singapore participated in this ethics-approved study. Participants completed a basic sociodemographic questionnaire and measures of rumination (Rumination Responses Scale; RRS; Nolen-Hoeksema et al, 1991), mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire Short Form; FFMQ-SF; Baer et al, 2006), and help-seeking intentions (General Help-Seeking Questionnaire Vignette Version; GHSQ-V; Wilson et al, 2005). We tabulated mean intention scores from 4 vignettes of the GHSQ-V that described emotionally distressed (stressed, anxious, depressed, and suicidal) individuals across 10 avenues of help-seeking (α = 0.90). <br> Results<br> Preliminary analyses revealed signifi cant gender differences across help-seeking scores, with men less likely to seek help than women (P <0.001); no other case-mix differences were found signifi cant. Bivariate correlations separated by gender revealed that there was no signifi cant relationship between mindfulness and help-seeking scores for men; as such, the subsequent analyses were conducted only for the subsample of Chinese women (n = 100). Mindfulness, specifi cally non-reactivity (FFMQ-SF subscale), significantly fully negatively mediated the rumination-help-seeking relationship for women (F([2,97] = 6.26, P <0.01; Sobel’s z = −2.45, P <0.01). Non-reactivity was also found to be a signifi cant moderator of the rumination-help-seeking link for women (F[3,96] = 6.25, P <0.05). No other facets of mindfulness were found to be signifi cant mediators or moderators.<br> Conclusion<br> These results reveal that, for ethnically Chinese collegegoing women, at least, intentions to seek help for emotional distress (e.g. acute or chronic stressors, symptoms of generalised anxiety and major depressive disorders, and suicidal ideation) were infl uenced by trait ruminative tendencies, which acted primarily through their reacting to their ruminative thoughts. This seemed exacerbated in individuals who were high trait-ruminators; their emotional reactivity to their distress further reduced help-seeking intentions. This is worrying, given that these individuals may in fact be those truly in need of assistance and support. These fi ndings provide preliminary data supporting the usefulness of mindfulness-based interventions in improving help-seeking intentions for emotional distress, particularly amongst high trait-ruminators, and that these may benefit women more than they may benefi t men because of universal societal expectations of gender roles.enConference Paper