El objetivo de este estudio ha sido evaluar el papel del descentramiento y la AP en la sintomatología depresiva y ansiosa. Los resultados muestran que tanto la AP como la capacidad de descentramiento explican la presencia de sintomatología depresiva mientras que sólo la AP explica la presencia de sintomatología ansiosa.

En el primer modelo, la presencia de ansiedad está explicada por la presencia de las subescalas de observación y depresión en sentido positivo y por las subescalas de actuar con consciencia y no juicio en sentido negativo. En este caso, el mayor peso de la regresión es para la sintomatología depresiva y la subescala de observación. La presencia de sintomatología depresiva confirma la comorbilidad entre los síntomas ansiosos y depresivos (Starr et al., 2014). La presencia de la subescala de observación puede estar relacionada con el estado de alerta característico de la sintomatología ansiosa (APA, 2013). Por su parte, la subescala de no juicio parece confirmar la hipótesis explicativa de la importancia de las creencias metacognitivas en el desarrollo de sintomatología ansiosa (Spada et al., 2010), "sentir miedo es malo". Por último, la subescala de actuar con AP y su relación negativa con la sintomatología ansiosa parece estar ligada a la reactividad, a las sensaciones corporales intrínsecas en un estado de alerta ansioso (Mennin, 2005). El descentramiento no explica la presencia de sintomatología ansiosa.

En el segundo modelo, la sintomatología depresiva es explicada por las subescalas de observación, describir, no juicio, descentramiento y sintomatología ansiosa. En este modelo todas las facetas incluidas de la AP y el descentramiento influyen en los síntomas depresivos en sentido negativo, es decir, a mayor puntuación en las variables de AP (observar, describir, actuar con AP, no juzgar y no reactividad) menor será el valor de la sintomatología depresiva. Las variables con más peso son el no juicio y el descentramiento. La relevancia del descentramiento en los síntomas depresivos puede deberse a su relación inversa con la rumiación, tan importante en la depresión (Mor et al., 2010).

La subescala de describir podría tener un efecto protector por estar asociada a nivel educativo más que a la AP como tal (Soler et al., 2014). En conclusión, el descentramiento y el no juicio parecen tomar un papel relevante en la presencia de sintomatología depresiva. Es importante señalar, que el aspecto de observación en población meditadora no tiene la misma connotación que en población no meditadora, en la cual actúa de forma aislada y no combinada con el no juicio o no actuación (Walach, Buchheld, Buttenmüller, Kleinknecht y Schmidt, 2006). La subescala de actuar con AP tiene una relación negativa con la disminución psicomotora. Estos datos ayudan a clarificar la creencia que inicialmente muchos de los participantes tienen de que van a tardar más haciendo las cosas con AP que sin ella, y sin embargo es posible que un efecto enlentecedor sea la distracción y no la conciencia plena. Por otro lado, es destacable el papel explicativo de la subescala de observación y del descentramiento en la variable de falta de afecto positivo de la sintomatología depresiva. Como se ha señalado, el descentramiento se entiende como el tomar distancia de las respuestas automáticas (taquicardias, crisis, ataques de pánico, entre otros) activadas por determinados contenidos mentales (Teasdale et al., 2002). Esto supone que una persona que antes evitaba o rumiaba los contenidos mentales ahora podría observarlos, lo que ya en si mismo construiría una nueva relación con ellos (Hayes-Stelkon y Graham, 2013). Esta presencia refuerza la teoría de la importancia de la observación para tomar conciencia del papel activador que tienen determinados recuerdos en la activación de sintomatología depresiva. Estas reactivaciones dependen de si el sujeto es capaz de dejar pasar estos pensamientos o bien de si se queda atrapado en ellos restableciéndolos (Hayes, 2004). Así pues, un sujeto con la capacidad de "separarse" de sus pensamientos, sean del contenido que sean, demostrará una menor presencia de sintomatología depresiva (Soler et al., 2014).

Estos resultados son útiles, ya que ayudan a profundizar en los mecanismos que subyacen a la sintomatología depresiva y ansiosa, lo cual podría ayudar a clarificar cómo la identificación con los pensamientos, el rechazo de la tristeza y la incapacidad de toma de perspectiva son elementos fundamentales para poder escoger una vía u otra de afrontamiento. Estas formas de actuación son las contrarias a las manejadas en las IBAP, concretamente al programa realizado para la prevención en recaídas en depresión (Segal, Williams y Teasdale, 2002). Por ello, sería útil seguir haciendo estudios que profundicen en estas variables e intervenciones que incluyan el trabajo con estos elementos.

Esta investigación no está exenta de limitaciones. Una de las más importantes es la transversalidad del estudio, lo que afectaría a las conclusiones obtenidas, no pudiéndose establecer relaciones causales entre la AP y la sintomatología disfuncional. Asimismo, la muestra utilizada pertenece mayoritariamente a población universitaria, adulta joven y femenina, por lo que existe una gran parte de la comunidad que no está representada en estos resultados. La evaluación online podría repercutir en los resultados, aunque existen estudios que han evaluado la adaptación de la versión de papel y lápiz para una versión para Internet, la mayoría de los cuales han mostrado propiedades psicométricas similares (Buchan, DeAngelis y Levinson, 2005). La muestra no pertenece a un contexto clínico, por lo que el funcionamiento de la sintomatología depresiva y ansiosa de índole clínica podría mostrar otro funcionamiento al mostrado en este estudio.

A pesar de las limitaciones estos resultados son alentadores para la intervención en AP con sintomatología ansiosa y depresiva y señalan la posible importancia de procesos metacognitivos como el descentramiento en su desarrollo y mantenimiento.

Depressive and anxious disorders are one of the most common mental health problems in the world. However, the high prevalence rates from referring to the formal diagnosis could reflect only a portion thereof, existing prevalence rates under-diagnosed. In the case of depressive symptoms, they do not reach a clinical diagnosis level and are known under the name of subclinical depression or depressive symptoms. These symptoms as those anxious have a clear impact on daily life and in the sense of well being of people. Both symptoms have shown a high level of comorbidity. These data raise the possibility that similar processes may underlie the development of depressive and anxious symptoms. Following this line of research, recent studies have found a relationship between both symptoms and deficits in metacognitive skills. Metacognition refers to the ability to recognize one's mental state (Semerari et al., 2003). People with a metacognitive awareness can observe their own thoughts and emotions as mental events rather than a definition of themselves. Teasdale et al. (2002) developed a therapeutic intervention in mindfulness that increases metacognitive awareness in people with depressive tendencies. Mindfulness has been defined as paying attention to experiences in the present moment in an accepting and nonjudgmental way. Minfulness is a natural disposition whose presence may vary depending on factors that promote or diminish it. It can be conceived as a trait or a state (Brown y Ryan, 2003). The paradigm of mindfulness trait raises the possibility that a disposition for mindfulness can emerge as a buffer factor in the development of different pathologies. One of the main mechanisms underlying mindfulness is decentering. Decentering has been described as the ability to focus on the present in a nonjudgmental stance toward accepting thoughts and feelings as mental events. This mechanism has been related to the increase of well-being and reduction of depressive symptoms. Therefore, the aim of this study was 1) to evaluate the relationship between mindfulness and decentering with anxiety symptoms and 2) to study the relationship between depressive symptoms and mindfulness and decentering. The sample consisted of 465 participants. The participants were aged18 to 67 years, (Md = 28.41, SD = 11.67). 314 of them were women (75.4%) and 102 (24.6%) were men. Participants were recruited from the general population of the province of Bizkaia (Spain). The inclusion criterion was being 18 years old or older. Anxious symptoms were measured with the subscale of anxiety of the instrument SCL-90. Depressive symptoms were analyzed by the instrument of CESD-20. Mindfulness and decentering were measured with the FFMQ and EQ instruments respectively. Statistical analyses were structured in two parts. The first part focuses on measuring the effect on the ability of mindfulness and decentering in the presence of anxiety symptoms. In a second part, the evaluation of a possible protective effect of mindfulness and decentering in the development of depressive symptomatology was analyzed. In the first part, the analysis was carried out by a stepwise regression. Decentering, mindfulness, and depressive symptoms were taken as independent variables in order to analyze their effect on the dependent variable of anxious symptoms. The instrument used to measure mindfulness evaluates this capacity through five subscales (observe, describe, act with AP, no trial, no reactivity) that operate independently from each other. Results revealed that the subscales of mindfulness, observe, acting with mindfulness, and no judgement, and depressive symptoms explain the 30% of the variance of the presence of anxious symptoms (.. = .304, . < .000). In the second part, a stepwise multiple regression was made. The variable depressive symptoms was taken as dependent variable, whereas decentering, mindfulness, and anxious symptoms were taken as independent variables. Results revealed that anxious symptoms and both mindfulness (observe, acting with mindfulness, no judgement, and no reactivity) and the ability to decenter explained the 44% presence of depressive symptoms (.. = .441, . < .000). After analyzing the influence of mindfulness and decentering on symptoms of anxiety and depression, the influence of these variables were studied in the different subscales of the instrument used to measure depressive symptoms in depressed/somatic affect, positive affect, irritability/hopelessness, and interpersonal/social in particular. For the first subscale, interpersonal difficulties, observe (β = -.081, . < .050), no judgement (β = -.293, . < 0.000), EQ Total (β = -.238, . = 0.000) and anxious symptoms (β = .250, . = .000) explained 34% of variance (.. = .341, . < .000). The following regression model, the independent variables no reactivity (β = -.073, . = .133), acting with mindfulness (β = -.67, p = .122), describe (β = -.120, . = .006, observe (β = -.069, . < .111), no judgement (β = -,197, . < .000), EQ Total (β = -.079, . = .129) and anxious symptoms (β = .33, . = .000) explain 33% for psychomotor decrease (.. = .335, . < .000). The subscale of depressive affect is explained 35% (.. = .359, . < .000) by the independent variables of no reactivity (β = -.060, . = .208), acting with mindfulness (β = .82, . = .052), describe (β = -.051, . = .230, observe (β = -,078, . < .067), no judgement (β = -.198, . < .000), decentering (β = -.242, . = .000) and anxious symptoms (β = .334, . = .000). Finally, Lack of positive affect subscale is explained 37% (.. = .337, . < .000) by the independent variables of describe (β = -.056, . = .190), observe (β = -.128, . < .002), no judgement (β = -.167, . < .000), decentering (β = -.378, . = .000) and anxious symptoms (β = .123, . = .005). The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of decentering and mindfulness in depressive and anxious symptoms. The results show that both mindfulness and the ability to decenter explain the presence of depressive symptoms. In this model all facets of mindfulness influence depressive symptoms in a positive direction, i.e., the higher the scores on the variables of mindfulness (observe, describe, acting with mindfulness, no judgement, and no reactivity) the lower the values of the depressive symptoms. This influence also includes decentering and anxious symptoms variables. Variables with more weight are no judgement and decentering. The relevance of decentering in depressive symptoms may be due to the inverse relationship with rumination, so important in depression (Mor et al., 2010). The subscale describe could have a protective effect associated with educational level rather than to mindfulness by itself (Soler et al., 2014). In conclusion, decentering and no judgment seem to take a role in the presence of depressive symptoms. It is important to note that the mindfulness aspect of observation does not have the same connotation in meditative population as in normal population in which it acts in isolation and not combined with no judgment or acting with mindfulness (Walach, Buchheld, Buttenmüller, Kleinknecht y Schmidt, 2006). The subscale acting with mindfulness has a negative relationship with psychomotor decrease. These data help to clarify the belief that many participants have at the beginning about how could acting with mindfulness slow down their perfomance. On the other hand, it is remarkable the role of the subscale observation and decentering in the variable lack of positive affect. As noted, decentering enables people to distance and disidentify themselves from their mental content (Getch et al., 2014; Teasdale et al., 2002). By this, people gain an active role over their emotions and thoughts and perceive them as transient mental events rather than accurate appraisals of reality. This means that if a person used to avoid or felt trapped with mental contents, decenter ability could help to build another perspective of them and consequently a new way of coping with these contents (Hayes-Skelton y Graham, 2013). This presence reinforces the theory of the importance of observation to become aware of the role that triggers certain memories in the activation of depressive symptoms. Regarding the results related to anxious symptoms, the subscales of mindfulness, observe, acting with mindfulness, and no judgement, and depressive symptoms explain 30% of their variance and leave out of the equation the subscale of mindfulness acceptance and the variable of decentering. It seems that in depressive symptomatology there is a greater predominance of decentering compared to anxious symptoms. This research is not exempt from limitations. This cross-sectional study affects the conclusions not being able to establish causal relationships between mindfulness and dysfunctional symptoms. Also, the sample used is majority-owned university population, young adult women, so there is a large part of the community to which these results cannot be applied. Finally, the sample does not belong to a clinical setting, so that the functioning of depressive and anxious symptoms of clinical nature could run differently to that shown in this study. Despite limitations, these results are useful to describe the mechanisms underlying depressive and anxious symptoms. Thus, they will clarify how identification with thoughts, rejecting sadness, and the inability of perspective taking are essential elements to choose different ways of coping emotions. These results are encouraging for mindfulness intervention with anxious and depressive symptoms and stress the importance of metacognitive processes, such as decentering, in its development.

Los autores de este artículo declaran que no tienen ningún conflicto de intereses.