A systematic review and meta-analysis of mindfulness- and acceptance-based interventions for affect intolerance/sensitivity

• Published in: Behaviour research and therapy 2020-12, Vol.135, p.103746-103746, Article 103746
• Main Authors: Kraemer, Kristen M., Luberto, Christina M., Hall, Daniel L., Ngo, Long H., Yeh, Gloria Y.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acceptance; Acceptance and Commitment Therapy; Affect; Affect intolerance; Affect sensitivity; Dialectical Behavior Therapy; Emotions; Humans; meta-Analysis; Mindfulness; Psychological Distress
• ISSN: 0005-7967; 1873-622X; 1873-622X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103746

Affect intolerance/sensitivity, defined as one's sensitivity to, or inability to tolerate, affective states, is a transdiagnostic process implicated in the development and maintenance of numerous forms of psychopathology. Mindfulness and acceptance interventions are posited to improve affect intolerance/sensitivity; however, there has been no quantitative synthesis of this research to date. Seven electronic databases were searched up until November 2018. Hedges' g values, 95% confidence intervals, p-values, and Q-values were calculated for a series of random-effects models. Twenty-five studies (pooled N = 1778) met eligibility criteria and were included in the qualitative synthesis (n = 22 included in the meta-analysis). There was a small, significant effect of mindfulness and acceptance interventions on improving affect intolerance/sensitivity from pre-to post-intervention (Hedges' g = −0.37, 95% CI = −0.52 to −0.23, p