Mindfulness, negative cognition and mental health

Abstract

Objectives. The present study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanism of how dispositional mindfulness works in promoting mental health by taking negative cognition into account. Specifically, the mediating effect of negative cognition between mindfulness and mental health was examined. Methods. A Snowball sampling method was adopted. One hundred and eleven undergraduate students of the City University of Hong Kong completed an online questionnaire that measured trait mindfulness, dysfunctional attitude, anxiety, depression and life satisfaction. Results. The present findings revealed that mindfulness was inversely associated with anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as positively correlated with life satisfaction. Negative cognition was found to mediate the effect of trait mindfulness on anxiety and depressive symptoms. The relationship between mindfulness and life satisfaction, however, was not mediated by negative cognition. Conclusion. The present study increases the understanding of how mindfulness works in promoting mental health. It provides empirical evidence that reduction in cognitive distortion may be an important change mechanism by which mindfulness leads to better well-being. The current findings also contribute to our knowledge regarding the effect of negative cognition on mental health.