The Relationship Between Depression, Dispositional Mindfulness and Resilience in a Sample of Nursing and Medical Students in Lebanon

Abstract

Background: Nursing and medical students experience high stress levels which increase their risk for depression. Literature has shown that dispositional mindfulness and resilience are protective factors against depression, and resilience is hypothesized to mediate this relationship. However, further studies are needed to ascertain the relationship between depression, mindfulness and resilience, to better understand depression in this population and formulate interventions that may help improve these students’ mental health in Lebanon.

Aims: The primary purpose of the study was to investigate depression in a Lebanese sample of nursing and medical students and the relationships between depression, mindfulness and resilience.

Method: The study employed a cross-sectional quantitative survey design. A convenience sample of undergraduate nursing students and medical students at the American University of Beirut (AUB) were invited via email to participate in the study. Key demographics were assessed through a questionnaire. Participants completed the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC10) and Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale Revised (CAMS-R) to assess for depression, resilience, and dispositional mindfulness levels respectively.

Analysis: Descriptive statistics were conducted on the levels of depression, dispositional mindfulness and resilience. Pearson’s correlation coefficients and multiple linear regression were carried out to determine the relationships between depression and study variables. Finally, mediation analysis was done following Baron and Kenny’s method. Results: 82 nursing students and 48 medical students participated in this study. The prevalence of depression was 21.2% (PHQ-9≥ 12). Mean scores of depression, resilience and dispositional mindfulness were 7.64 (SD= 5.72), 26.1 (SD= 7.41), and 26.2 (SD= 5.67) respectively. Dispositional mindfulness was the strongest predictor of depression in nursing and medical students (B= - 0.312, p< 0.01). Resilience and demographic variables did not significantly predict depression. Resilience was not found to mediate the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and depression (z= 0.996, SD= 0.081, p> 0.05).