Objective. To study the relationship between mindfulness and coping strategies in patients with schizophrenia, schizotypal disorder, and anorexia nervosa. Material and methods. Seventy-five patients were examined (25 with anorexia nervosa (F50.0), 25 with schizotypal disorder (F21), and 25 with paranoid schizophrenia (F20.0)), who were treated in outpatient units of Psychiatric Clinical Hospital No. 1, named after N.A. Alekseev, Moscow, as well as a control group of 25 mentally healthy volunteers. The clinical-psychopathological, psychometric, and statistical methods were used. Mindfulness was assessed using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Karpov’s reflexivity questionnaire was also used. Coping strategies were assessed using the Ways of Coping Questionnaire (WCQ), and a short version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale 18 (DERS-18) was used. Results. Significant differences in the relationship between mindfulness and coping strategies between groups have been identified. In the control group, non-judgmentality and description were negatively correlated with self-control (p<0.001 and p=0.018), detachment (p=0.023), acceptance of responsibility (p<0.001), and avoidance (p=0.001). In patients with schizotypal disorder, non-judgmentality was negatively correlated with avoidance (p<0.001), detachment (p=0.017), and clarity (p=0.007). In paranoid schizophrenia patients, non-judgmentality and reflexivity were negatively associated with detachment (p=0.018) and acceptance of responsibility (p=0.021). In patients with anorexia nervosa, non-judgmentality was negatively associated with avoidance (p=0.008) and rejection (p<0.001). Conclusion. There was no direct link between mindfulness components and the choice of coping strategies in clinical groups. In patients with paranoid schizophrenia and schizotypal disorder, these findings are presumably due to emotional ambivalence, dampening of emotional response; in anorexia nervosa patients, due to a lack of emotional self-regulation skills.
Moiseeva et al. (Mon,) studied this question.