POBLACIÓN: CONTRATISTAS

At the conclusion of the protocol the participants were asked to complete a debrief questionnaire to assess engagement with the relevant app for their condition. The mindfulness group generally enjoyed the mindfulness app more than the control group

enjoyed the list app. In the mindfulness group 39%Strongly agreed, 46%Agreedand 15%

were Neutral, compared with the control group where only 7.7% Strongly agreed, 39% Agreed and 35% were Neutral. Moreover, in the control group 15% Disagreed and 12% Strongly disagreed. When asked whether the app was easy to use, 69% of the mindfulness

groupStrongly agreed and 31%Agreed. For the control group 39%Strongly agreed, 31%

Agreed, 12% were Neutral, in addition 15% Disagreed and 4% Strongly disagreed. For

those using the mindfulness app, 35% Strongly agreed that they would keep using it, 35%

Agreedand 31% were Neutral. Whereas in the control condition, only 8%strongly agreed

that they would continue using the list app, 23%Agreed, 19% were Neutral, whereas 50%

To control for placebo effects, both conditions were told that the app they were using may assist with stress management. When asked if the app was helpful for managing stress the

mindfulness group responded with 12% Strongly agreeing, 58% Agreeing and 31%

Neutral. The control group rated the list app for managing stress with 15% Strongly agreeing, 35%Agreeing, 27%Neutraland 23%Disagreeing.

In summary, analysis of app use and engagement suggest that the mindfulness group were

sufficiently engaged with the mindfulness app Stop, Breathe and Think and a large

percentage of participants used the app according to the experimental protocol. Those in the control did not rate the list appTick Tickas highly and were less likely to use the app again. In the mindfulness condition 85% said they enjoyed the mindfulness app compared with only 39% of the control group app. In terms of ease of use, 100% of the mindfulness app

users foundStop, Breathe and Think easy to use, compared with 69% of the control group

ratingTick Tick for ease of use. Of those usingStop, Breathe and Think, 69% thought they

would continue using the app compared with 31% of those using the list app. This was expected as the list app has only basic functionality and the task protocol was used as an active control whereby the user was engaged with a placebo control using a technological analogue and completing a cognitive task. As this protocol was an active waitlist control, the control group were given the mindfulness app protocol at the conclusion of the second lab.

3.6 SUMMARY OF FINDINGS

This study was a RCT with the aim of assessing a brief (7-day) mindfulness intervention with the smartphone app, Stop, Breathe and Think. Based on previous research, it was hypothesised, that the novel approach to mindfulness training would demonstrate an increase in mindfulness and positive affect, and a reduction on measures of perceived stress, negative affect and emotion reactivity. Together, the findings of this research do not provide evidence that a brief mindfulness-based smartphone intervention can improve measures of perceived stress and mood compared to the control condition. No significant changes in self-reported perceived stress were detected. Regardless of condition, both groups exhibited a significant downward trend in negative affect. No changes in positive affect were observed.

Results from the two self-report mindfulness questionnaires (FMI, FFMQ) were inconsistent and only partially support the prediction that measures of mindfulness would increase in the experimental condition compared to the control. Both groups demonstrated a parallel increase on the FMI and FFMQ full scale with large effect sizes. When the facets

of the FFMQ were examined, both groups demonstrated a significant increase on theNon-

Reactfacet with a large effect size. In support of the hypothesis, a significant increase was

detected on theAct-Awarefacet in the mindfulness condition compared to no-change in the

control condition with a small effect size. No significant changes were detected for the Observe, DescribeorNon-Judgefacets.

Together the findings do not provide strong evidence to support the hypothesis that in response to the fear and anger stories, participants in the mindfulness group would demonstrate reduced emotional reactivity compared to the control condition. Both groups

were equally immersed in the stories (Immersion). No significant variations were noted in

the tendency to feel overwhelmed by the stories (Dominance). When listening to the fear

stories, no significant changes in negative affect or perceived arousal were detected. In partial support of the hypothesis, the mindfulness group demonstrated a significant reduction in negative affect (Valence) and perceived physiological activation (Arousal) after listening to anger stories post-intervention compared to the control condition with

medium effect sizes. Conversely, no significant effects were observed in PANAS change scores. No differences in facial muscle activation relating to anger (Corrugator supercilii), fear (Frontalis), or positive affect (Zygomaticus major) were observed.

The results from the Emotion Stroop do not confirm the prediction that the mindfulness group would have shorter completion times, make fewer mistakes in colour-naming words and a have smaller interference scores for threat words, than those in the control post-test. No significant changes were observed in accuracy or reaction speed. In support of the

hypothesis, the control group was slower to respond to Panic-Threat, Social-Threat and

Neutral words post-test compared the mindfulness condition. However, no significant changes in reaction speed over time were found for either group. Contrary to the hypothesis, a significant increase in interference score for both groups was detected, suggesting both groups became more distracted by emotion words post-intervention. Paired t-tests did not detect any significant changes in interference from pre to post-test forPanic- Threat or Social-Threat words. A significant increase in interference for Positive words was detected over time within the mindfulness group but not the control group, which is in the opposite direction than what was expected.

DISCUSSION