Investigating trait mindfulness in women with a history of unwanted sexual contact

Abstract

Unwanted sexual contact (USC) is common in women, and may contribute to sexual dysfunction via avoidance coping techniques. Mindfulness-based treatments, which directly challenge avoidance, have been shown to be effective in treating sexual dysfunction, however, it is not yet clear whether there are differences in trait mindfulness between women with and without a history of USC. We used data from four previous studies and compared trait mindfulness on the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) in women with and without a history of USC. There were no significant differences between the USC and no-USC groups on total FFMQ score, nor on most individual domain scores; however, significant group differences were found on observe and acting with awareness subscales. We speculate on the possible meaning of the USC group having higher observe scores and lower acting with awareness scores compared to the no-USC group.

Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge the statistical analysis advice provided by Henry Liu, Anastasia Ivanova, Tianne Lee, and Christen who assisted with analyses are part their coursework, STAT 450: Case Studies in Statisticsat the University of British Columbia.

Informed consent

The current study only included previously collected anonymous archival data. Participants provided written informed consent for their participation in the prior studies from which these data were obtained.

Disclosure statement

The authors report there are no competing interests to declare.

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, L.A.B., upon reasonable request.

Additional information

Funding

There is no funding associated with this work.