Crandall A, Cheung A, Young A, Hooper AP. (2019). Theory-based predictors of mindfulness meditation mobile app usage: A survey and cohort study. JMIR mHealth and uHealth. 7(3): e10794. doi: 10.2196/10794
Researchers evaluated associations between college students’ use of a mobile mindfulness application (app) and factors theorized to predict behavior in the Theory of Planned Behavior (intentions, attitudes, perceived social norms, perceived behavioral control) and Temporal Self-Regulation Theory (executive functioning). Researchers hypothesized that participants’ executive functioning would moderate the relationship between intentions to use the mobile app and actual use of the app. Researchers recruited undergraduate students with minimal experience with mindfulness meditation (less than 2 hours) to use a mindfulness meditation app for 2 weeks. At enrollment, participants completed assessments of intentions to use the app, attitudes towards mindfulness, perceived social norms regarding mindfulness (i.e. participant perceptions of how peer opinions about mindfulness), and perceived behavioral control in practicing mindfulness meditation. Participants also completed tasks evaluating executive functioning (cognitive shifting, inhibitory control, attention). Participants were asked to record the frequency and length of mindfulness practice, which was used as an indicator of app usage. After 2 weeks, participants returned their mindfulness logs. Researchers found that a model that included attitudes, perceived social norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions significantly predicted the number of days participants reported practicing mindfulness. Similarly, a model including attitudes toward mindfulness, perceived social norms, perceived behavioral control, and behavioral intentions to practice significantly predicted reported minutes spent practicing mindfulness. Greater intent to practice mindfulness and positive social norms (i.e perceptions of positive peer opinions of mindfulness) were independently associated with reported total number of days and total number of minutes participants practiced mindfulness meditation. Executive functioning and working memory were not associated with frequency or time spent practicing mindfulness.