EAPSI: An examination of relationships between mindfulness, personality traits, and levels of anxiety and depression in American and Japanese populations

正念被描述为对当下时刻的非判断性意识。正念植根于东方宗教，由于其与积极幸福的联系，最近在心理学研究中受到关注。基于正念的治疗与减少压力和焦虑以及增加社交情绪和行为有关。相反，某些人格特质可以作为更高水平的抑郁和焦虑的风险因素。总的来说，目前的提案调查了正念水平是否介导了日本和美国非临床人群中人格特质与焦虑和抑郁水平之间的关系。这项研究将在筑波大学进行，由Shintaro Yukuwa博士领导，他是目前正念和情绪的研究者。由于文化和宗教的不同，预期所提出的变量水平不同，因此必须在东亚国家进行拟议的研究，以弥合西方构思的正念和东方宗教正念之间的文献差距。 这项研究旨在推进关于人格特质、临床相关症状（例如，抑郁和焦虑），以及正念的各个方面，通过比较人口之间的数据。更多的临床兴趣，相关性和中介分析将使我们能够看到正念如何发生在个人以及它如何与相关变量相关。同样重要的是遭受自然灾害的风险和宗教信仰程度。通过更好地了解正念、人格和临床措施之间的多方面关系，心理学家可以更好地帮助那些患有精神疾病的人，并为那些有出现临床问题风险的人创造预防方法。精神疾病的严重程度往往可以大大降低：了解风险因素，如人格特征，改善变量，如正念，可以在心理学和国际社会中产生重大影响。这个NSF EAPSI奖是与日本科学促进协会合作资助的。

Mindfulness is described as nonjudgmental awareness on the present moment. Grounded in Eastern religions, mindfulness has gained recent attention in psychological research due to its association with positive well-being. Mindfulness-based therapies are associated with decreased stress and anxiety as well as increased social emotion and behavior. In contrast, certain personality traits, can serve as risk factors for higher levels of depression and anxiety. Overall, the current proposal investigates whether levels of mindfulness mediate the relationship between personality traits and levels of anxiety and depression in nonclinical populations in Japan and America. This study will be conducted at the University of Tsukuba under Dr. Shintaro Yukuwa, a current researcher of mindfulness and emotion. Expecting differing levels of the proposed variables due to culture and religion, it is essential that the proposed study be conducted in an East Asian country to bridge the literature gap between Western-conceived mindfulness and Eastern religious mindfulness. This research aims to advance the scientific literature on personality traits, clinically-relevant symptoms (e.g., depression and anxiety), and facets of mindfulness through comparing data between populations. Of more clinical interest, correlation and mediation analyses will allow us to see how mindfulness occurs in individuals and how it relates to pertinent variables. Also of significant interest is exposure to natural disasters and degree of religiosity. By better understanding the multifaceted relationship of mindfulness, personality and clinical measures, psychologists can better help those suffering from mental conditions and create preventative methods for those at risk of developing clinical problems. Mental illness can often be greatly reduced in severity: understanding risk factors, such as personality traits, and ameliorating variables, such as mindfulness, can have a significant impact in psychology and international society in general. This NSF EAPSI award is funded in collaboration with the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science.