MBSR Effects on Aging Anxiety and Body Image

Keywords

• aging anxiety
• middle age woman
• mindfulness
• body image

Lead sponsor

KTO Karatay University is the lead sponsor of 128 studies on the registry; 16 are open to participants now.

Study arms

• Experimental
  mindfulness-based stress reduction program intervention group

  After the pre-test, a mindfulness-based stress reduction program will be implemented. It will be evaluated with a post-test.

  Behavioral: bilinçli farkındalık temelli stres azaltma programı

• No intervention
  control group

  A pre-test will be administered. No practice will be conducted. Students will be evaluated with a post-test

Interventions

• Behavioralbilinçli farkındalık temelli stres azaltma programı

  Following application to the center, the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program will be implemented starting from the scheduled date. The program will last a total of 8 weeks, with one session per week, each session lasting approximately 2 hours. At the end of the 6th week, one day will be designated as a "day of silence," during which a 6-hour session will be conducted. The 8-week program is structured around the themes of aging anxiety and body image. During the day of silent awareness (after the 6th week), the 6-hour silence period will include body scan practices, mindful walking, and breathing meditation. The aim of this silent retreat day is to deepen participants' internal awareness.

Primary outcomes

1. Change in Aging Anxiety Score as Measured by the Aging Anxiety Scale for Middle-Aged Women

   Aging anxiety will be assessed using the Aging Anxiety Scale for Middle-Aged Women, a self-report questionnaire consisting of Likert-type items. The outcome will be evaluated as the mean change in total scale score from baseline to immediately post-intervention. Higher scores indicate higher levels of aging anxiety.

   Time frame: Baseline and immediately post-intervention (8 weeks)

Secondary outcomes

1. Change in Body Image Score as Measured by the Body Image Scale

   Body image will be assessed using the Body Image Scale, a self-report instrument measuring individuals' perceptions and attitudes toward their own bodies. The outcome will be evaluated as the mean change in total scale score from baseline to post-intervention. Higher scores indicate a more positive body image.

   Time frame: Baseline and post-intervention (8 weeks)

Publications

• Aydın, A., & Kabasakal, E. (2022). Turkish adaptation of the Aging Anxiety Scale for middle-aged women: Validity and reliability study. Journal of Basic and Clinical Health Sciences, 6, 173-180. https://doi.org/10.30621/jbachs.2022.1012 Bergman, Y. S., & Segel-Karpas, D. (2018). Future time perspective, loneliness, and depressive symptoms among middle-aged adults: A mediation model. Journal of Affective Disorders, 241, 173-175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.08.019 Bergman, Y. S., & Segel-Karpas, D. (2021). Aging anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms among middle-aged adults: The moderating role of ageism. Journal of Affective Disorders, 290, 89-92. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2021.04.077 Cameron, E., Ward, P., Mandville-Anstey, S. A., & Coombs, A. (2018). The female aging body: A systematic review of female perspectives on aging, health, and body image. Journal of Women & Aging, 31(1), 3-17. https://doi.org/10.1080/08952841.2018.1449586 Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mindfulness interventions. Annual Review of Psychology, 68, 491-516. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-042716-051139 Fernandez-Jimenez, C., Alvarez-Hernandez, J. F., Salguero-Garcia, D., Aguilar-Parra, J. M., & Trigueros, R. (2020). Validation of the Lasher and Faulkender Anxiety about Aging Scale (AAS) for the Spanish context. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(12), 4231. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17124231 Gendron, T. L., Inker, J. K., Andricosky, R., & Zanjani, F. (2020). Development of the relational ageism scale: Confirmatory test on survey data. International Journal of Aging and Human Development, 90(3), 281-296. https://doi.org/10.1177/0091415019836956 Lee, H., & You, M. (2019). Development of an aging anxiety scale for middle-aged women. Journal of Korean Academy of Nursing, 49(1), 14-25. https://doi.org/10.4040/jkan.2019.49.1.14

Individual participant data

Plan to share: No — Individual participant data (IPD) will not be shared due to the sensitive nature of the psychological and health-related information collected from middle-aged women. The dataset includes identifiable variables related to aging anxiety, body image, and mindfulness-based intervention outcomes. Sharing such data may pose confidentiality risks despite anonymization efforts. Aggregated results will be available upon request.