Mindfulness as a moderator of the relationship between dehydroepiandrosterone and reported physical symptoms

The present study tested the hypothesis that mindfulness leads to greater concordance between physiological functioning (dehydroepiandrosterone; DHEA) and the psychological experience of that functioning (physical symptoms). Participants completed the mindful Attention Awareness Scale (Brown & Ryan, 2003) and a questionnaire assessing the severity of recent physical symptoms. In addition, each participant provided a saliva sample that allowed for the measurement of DHEA. It was found that those higher in mindfulness had a stronger negative relationship between DHEA and symptoms than those lower in mindfulness. Healthcare providers can use mindfulness to predict which patients are likely to have greater insight into their physiological health. The results also provide further validation of the mindfulness construct as an important predictor of internal concordance.