Investigating the Differences between the Components of Meta-Emotions and Mindfulness in Depressed and Normal People

 Depression is one of the most serious threats to today's society and of course, one of the most common psychological disorders. This research aims to investigate the differences between the components of meta-emotions and mindfulness in people with depression and normal people.

 The current research was a causal-comparative study. The selection of samples of the clinical group was done in the field and in cooperation with one of the centers providing psychiatric services located in Shiraz, Iran, and from among those who were referred to this clinic. The research sample size was 100 people who formed two equal clinical and comparison groups. The clinical group, which included 50 patients with major depressive disorder (MDD), was selected purposefully and with the diagnosis of a psychiatrist according to sufficient criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5). The comparison group, which was matched with the clinical group in the three variables of sex, age, and marital status, was selected by convenience sampling method from among the residents of Shiraz. The data were obtained using the Meta-Emotion Scale (MES) and the questionnaire on the components of mindfulness. Statistical analysis of research data was done using SPSS software and multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA).

 There was a significant difference between the average scores of meta-emotion and components of mindfulness between depressed and normal groups (P < 0.001). The results showed that the mean of meta-emotion in people with depression (89.74) was higher than in normal people (85.16) and in the case of mindfulness components, the mean of people with depression (114.34) was lower than that of normal people (131.44).

 The results showed that there was a significant difference between the depressed and normal groups in terms of the experience of ecstasy and the level of the trait of mindfulness.