Evaluating a Mindfulness Induction for Coping with Social Exclusion in Emerging Adults who Engage in Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

Previous research suggests that individuals who engage in non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) experience heightened sensitivity to social stressors such as exclusion. Mindfulness practice may buffer social stress among the general population, but whether it functions differently among those who engage in NSSI remains unclear. This experimental study sought to investigate the effects of a mindfulness induction relative to a control task as a buffer against social exclusion among emerging adults with and without a past-year history of NSSI, in terms of state stress and negative and positive affect, over time (baseline, reactivity, recovery). Participants included 172 emerging adults: 82 who reported past-year engagement in NSSI (<i>M</i>_<i>age</i> = 22.51, <i>SD</i> = 2.74; 78% women) and 90 who have never engaged in NSSI (<i>M</i>_<i>age</i> = 22.57, <i>SD</i> = 2.61; 80% women). All participants completed baseline measures of state stress and affect and were randomly assigned to either a mindfulness induction or active control task. Following completion of these activities, they underwent a social exclusion task (i.e., Cyberball), followed by reactivity measures of state stress and affect. Following a brief delay, participants finally completed recovery measures of state stress and affect. Three 3-way ANCOVAs (Time X Group X Condition) revealed no significant effects of the mindfulness induction on any outcomes at either follow-up time point (<i>p</i>'s > .05), although exploratory supplemental analyses revealed significant decreases in state stress and both positive and negative affect from baseline to reactivity (<i>p</i>'s < .001). Thus, while the mindfulness induction did not differ from a control task in terms of buffering stress and affect in response to social exclusion, participants did report a decrease on outcomes from baseline to post-social exclusion. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.