Accepting Things as They Are: Dispositional Mindfulness, Decentering, Self-Compassion, and the Impact of Stuttering on Adults Who Stutter

Purpose: Mindfulness is defined as intentional, present-moment, nonjudgmental awareness. Previous studies have proposed that mindfulness practice may ben-efit people who stutter. This study aimed to test the relationship between levels of dispositional mindfulness in people who stutter and the impact of stuttering and whether self-compassion and the metacognitive ability of shifting to an objective perspective (decentering) mediate this relationship. It is hypothesized that greater dispositional mindfulness is associated with attenuated negative impact of stuttering on a person’s life through a higher capability to shift into an objective and compassionate perspective. Method: A total of 150 Israeli adults who stutter completed a full online survey in Hebrew to assess their levels of dispositional mindfulness, self-compassion, decentering capability, and impact of stuttering on their lives. The relationships between constructs were assessed using Pearson’s correlation and mediation analysis. Results: The adverse impact of stuttering was negatively and moderately asso-ciated with dispositional mindfulness, such that individuals with greater self-reported dispositional mindfulness reported fewer reactions to stuttering, diffi-culty in communication, and higher quality of life. This relationship was fully and sequentially mediated via decentering and self-compassion, which were also negatively and moderately associated with the impact of stuttering. Conclusions: People who stutter with greater dispositional mindfulness have an increased ability to view their experiences in a more objective and compassion-ate manner, which is associated with an attenuated impact of stuttering on their lives. As these capabilities can be cultivated through practice, this study pro-poses mindfulness practice as an additional beneficial tool for people who stutter.