Mindfulness, coping, and optimism as mechanisms of change in the 3RP‐NF intervention

Introduction Neurofibromatosis (NF) is chronic neurogenetic condition that increases risk for poor quality of life, depression, and anxiety. Given the lack of biomedical treatments, we developed the “Relaxation Response Resiliency for NF” (3RP‐NF) program to improve psychosocial outcomes among adults with NF. Objective To move toward effectiveness testing, we must understand mechanisms that explained treatment effects. We tested whether our hypothesized mechanisms of change—mindfulness, coping, and optimism—mediated improvements in quality of life, depression, and anxiety among adults in the 3RP‐NF program (N = 114; ages 18–70; 72.80% female; 81.58% White). Methods We conducted mixed‐effects models to assess whether these mechanisms uniquely mediated outcomes. Results Improvements in quality of life were most explained by coping, (b = 0.97, SE = 0.28, CI [0.45, 1.56]), followed by mindfulness (b = 0.46, SE = 0.17, CI [0.15, 0.82]) and optimism (b = 0.39, SE = 0.12, CI [0.17, 0.65]). Improvements in depression and anxiety were most explained by mindfulness (b = −1.52, SE = 0.38, CI [−2.32, −0.85], CSIE = −0.26; b = −1.29, SE = 0.35, CI [−2.04, −0.67], CSIE = −0.23), followed by optimism (b = 0.39, SE = 0.12, CI [0.17, 0.65]; b = −0.49, SE = 0.20, CI [−0.91, −0.13]), but were not explained by coping (b = 0.22, SE = 0.43, CI [−0.62, 1.07]; b = 0.06, SE = 0.46, CI [−0.84, 0.97]), respectively. Conclusions Targeting mindfulness, coping, and optimism in psychosocial interventions may be a promising way to improve the lives of adults with NF.