The Relationship between Mindfulness and Resiliency among Active Duty Service Members and Military Veterans

Abstract

Soldier resilience is of paramount importance to the U.S. Military. Mindfulness and Resilience are positively correlated to one another in research focused on civilian populations. Since mindfulness can be learned, if the correlations remain consistent over time, then perhaps resilience can be increased by learning to be mindful. However, no published research has investigated the relationship between mindfulness and resilience among military active duty and veteran populations who have not undergone mindfulness training. Thirty active duty and veteran service members volunteered and completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) and the Resilience Scale, while 29 fully completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ). Results reveal significant correlations between resilience scores and three of the FFMQ scale (Describe, Conscious Action, and Non-Reactive, p < .05), but not with the overall FFMQ, the other two facets (Observe and Non-Discrimination of the FFMQ), and not with the MAAS (p > .05). These results provide initial information on the relationship between mindfulness and resilience among active duty military and veterans, revealing that only some aspects of mindfulness appear related to, and predictive of, resilience. Should the relationships be consistent over time, then instruction in mindfulness may ultimately impact resilience, however additional research is necessary.