The Importance of Mindfulness in Explaining the Relationship Between Adolescents’ Anxiety and Dropout Intentions

Abstract

Failure to complete high school is associated with a myriad of negative outcomes. Some research has suggested a link between student anxiety and risk of dropout. Recently, there has been increasing evidence that mindfulness may diminish anxiety in adolescents; however, the relationship between anxiety, mindfulness and dropout has yet to be investigated. Thus, the current study examined the role of mindfulness and anxiety in adolescents’ intentions for dropping out of school. The sample consisted of 471 Grade 9 students (53.1 % female; M age = 14.45 years, SD = .527). All participants completed the Beck Anxiety Inventory for Youth, the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure and an English translation of Le questionnaire de depistage des eleves a risque de decrochage scolaire (questionnaire for screening of students at risk of school dropout) in groups. Results showed that anxiety demonstrated a moderate significant negative association with mindfulness, and a low significant positive association with reports of dropout intention. A significant low negative correlation was also found for mindfulness and dropout intention. Interestingly, mindfulness was found to partially mediate the relationship between anxiety and dropout intention, with a medium effect. Implications for future research and practice regarding mindfulness as a protective factor for dropout intention are discussed.