Dispositional mindfulness moderates the relationship between depression and posttraumatic growth in Chinese adolescents following a tornado

This study explored whether dispositional mindfulness moderated the relationship between depression and posttraumatic growth. A total of 435 Chinese adolescents who experienced a tornado in Yancheng city reported their level of depressive symptoms (The Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale for Children; CESDC), posttraumatic growth (Posttraumatic Growth Inventory; PTGI) and dispositional mindfulness (Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale; MAAS). The current study found that for individuals with higher dispositional mindfulness, their depression was associated with more posttraumatic growth, while the individuals with lower dispositional mindfulness showed no such association. These findings suggest that individuals high in dispositional mindfulness possess the potential to benefit from the process of adaptive coping in response to depression following a traumatic experience. The implications of the results for research and mindfulness-based interventions targeting depression were discussed.