Experiential avoidance mediates the relation between mindfulness and anxiety

A substantial body of evidence indicates that mindfulness is associated with less anxiety. However, less is known about the mechanisms by which mindfulness decreases anxiety. One possibility is that mindfulness encourages individuals to be less experientially avoidant (e.g., less likely to attempt to suppress or avoid unwanted private experiences), a hallmark of anxiety. The purpose of the present research was to assess whether less experiential avoidance accounted for the inverse relation between mindfulness and anxiety. Two studies were conducted with college students (Ns = 493 and 320, respectively). Participants completed self-report measures of trait mindfulness, anxiety, and experiential avoidance online (Study 1) and in person (Study 2) for course credit. Across both studies, greater mindfulness was associated with lower experiential avoidance and anxiety, and experiential avoidance was positively associated with anxiety. Furthermore, experiential avoidance significantly accounted for the relation between mindfulness and anxiety in both studies. Alternative mediation models were also tested. These findings suggest that mindfulness may improve anxiety through its effects on experiential avoidance. Given that experiential avoidance is thought to be involved in the development and maintenance of several psychological disorders, interventions involving mindfulness training may have promising broad mental health benefits. However, further research is needed to replicate these findings across clinical populations and therapeutic settings.