Is the Relationship Between Trait Mindfulness and Quality of Life/Life Satisfaction Indirect?

Event Center BC

Mindfulness meditation and related practices have become increasingly popular in the clinical research and practitioner communities and have been incorporated into many western psychotherapies (e.g., Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction, Dialectical Behavior Therapy, Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy). Although a growing literature has shown that state and trait mindfulness is related to healthy physical and mental health outcomes, less is known about the mechanism(s) through which mindfulness (purposeful attention with acceptance) enhances health outcomes. In the current study, we attempt to explore how the trait of being aware of one’s experience with acceptance may lead to positive outcomes. Specifically, the current study is an attempt to delineate potential mechanisms through which mindfulness may yield the positive outcomes of quality of life and life satisfaction. Participants consisted of undergraduate students from California State University, San Bernardino who received course credit for taking part in the study. Study measures included a demographics form; the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ; Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer & Toney, 2006); the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener, Emmons, Larsen & Griffin, 1985); World Health Organization Quality of Life Scale-Brief (WHOQOL-BREF; Skevington, Lofty & O’Connell, 2004); the Multidimensional Experiential Avoidance Questionnaire (MEAQ; Gamez, Chmielewski, Kotov, Ruggero & Watson, 2011); the Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ; Gross & John, 2003); the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ; Bond, Hayes, Baer, Carpenter, Guenole, Orcutt, Waltz, & Zettle, 2011); and the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory (CFI; Dennis & Vander Wal, 2010). Results of multiple mediator regression analyses using PROCESS (Hayes, 2008) indicated that the mindfulness – quality of life relationship was indirect as predicted and may be due to the proposed mechanisms of approach and commitment, cognitive and psychological flexibility, and emotion regulation. Findings have implications for improving overall quality of life utilizing mindfulness techniques. Limitations as well as future research directions will be discussed.