Abstract
Grounded in Mindfulness-to-Meaning Theory, this study examined the relation between dispositional mindfulness and life satisfaction through mediating mechanisms including savoring positive experiences and gratitude. A total of 133 Chinese mindfulness practitioners at 20–72 years old were recruited from a 3-day transnational meditation event in Hong Kong. Findings based on structural equation modeling indicated that controlling for sex, age, education, family income, number of hours of mindfulness practice per week, and type of administration, dispositional mindfulness was associated with satisfaction with life through savoring positive experiences and gratitude as mediators. The findings provided initial evidence for these processes between mindfulness and life satisfaction in the Chinese context. To promote life satisfaction, researchers and mental health practitioners should recognize the chain of mechanisms related to mindfulness.
Highlights
Mindfulness refers to paying attention to the present moment non-judgmentally, including thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations (Kabat-Zinn, 1994)
Given the significant correlations between some variables hypothesized in the model and the background variables, they were included as covariates in the structural equation model
Mindfulness was positively associated with savoring positive experiences (β = 0.67, p < 0.001)
Summary
Mindfulness refers to paying attention to the present moment non-judgmentally, including thoughts, emotions, and bodily sensations (Kabat-Zinn, 1994). According to Mindfulnessto-Meaning Theory (Garland et al, 2015), mindfulness fosters decentering from distress to broadened attention and metacognitive awareness (Teasdale et al, 1995), which enhances emotion regulation, fosters positive emotions, and disengages people from autopilot. These processes further promote well-being, meaning in life, and better mental health (Brown and Ryan, 2003; Coffey and Hartman, 2008)
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