Predicting the relationship between level of mindfulness and subjective well-being: A study of doctoral scholars in India
Vol 9, Issue 11, 2024, Article identifier:
VIEWS - 67 (Abstract) 50 (PDF) 0 (PDF)
Abstract
The research examined the correlation between mindfulness and the subjective well-being of doctoral scholars. The compilation of the PhD scholars’ data was obtained from universities offering doctoral programs from two states, viz., Assam and Meghalaya, of India. A simple random sampling method was employed to choose 112 PhD candidates, including 43.5% male and 56.5% female participants. The data from this investigation were analyzed utilizing Pearson correlation and multiple regression. Data on self-reported perceived mindfulness were collected using three instruments: the Five Facets Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Affect Scale, and the Life Satisfaction Scale. A multivariate regression model was constructed and analysed. The results indicated a robust correlation between elevated mindfulness scores and increased good emotions, decreased negative emotions, and a modest efficacy in predicting overall mindfulness. This study's results indicate that mindfulness significantly affects the subjective well-being of PhD scholars during their doctoral studies. The findings indicate that PhD scholars can enhance their subjective well-being during their studies by appropriately employing mindfulness techniques.
Keywords
References
1. Persike, M., &Seiffge-Krenke, I. (2012). Competence in coping with stress in adolescents from three regions of the world. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 41, 863-879. doi:10.1007/s10964-011-9719-6.
2. Felsten, G. (2002). Minor stressors and depressed mood: Reactivity is more strongly correlated than total stress. Stress and Health: Journal of the International Society for the Investigation of Stress, 18(2), 75-81. doi:10.1002/smi.925.
3. Stoeber, J., & Rambow, A. (2007). Perfectionism in adolescent school students: Relations with motivation, achievement, and well-being. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 1379-1389. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2006.10.015.
4. American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (Fourth edition, Text Revision). Washington, DC: Author.
5. Auerbach, R. P., Alonso, J., Axinn, W. G., Cuijpers, P., Ebert, D. D., Green, J. G., Hwang, I., Kessler, R. C., Liu, H., Mortier, P., Nock, M. K., Pinder-Amaker, S., Sampson, N. A., Aguilar-Gaxiola, S., AlHamzawi, A., Andrade, L. H., Benjet, C., Caldas-de-Almeida, J. M., Demyttenaere, K., Bruffaerts, R. (2016). Mental disorders among college students in the WHO World Mental Health Surveys. Psychological Medicine, 46(14), 2955–2970. https://doi.org/10.1017/ S0033291716001665.
6. Pedrelli, P., Nyer, M., Yeung, A., Zulauf, C., & Wilens, T. (2015). College Students: Mental Health Problems and Treatment Considerations. Academic Psychiatry, 39(5), 503–511. https://doi. org/10.1007/s40596-014-0205-9.
7. Dyrbye, L. N., Thomas, M. R., & Shanafelt, T. D. (2006). A systematic review of depression, anxiety, and other indicators of psychological distress among U.S. and Canadian medical students. Academic Medicine, 81, 354-373. doi:10.1097/00001888-200604000-0000.
8. Chow, P., & Flynn, D. M. (2016). The development of the student stressors and emotional disturbance scale. College Student Journal, 50(2), 191-198. doi:10.5539/ass.v7n10p30.
9. Snippe, E., Nyklíček, I., Schroevers, M. J., & Bos, E. H. (2015). The temporal order of change in daily mindfulness and affect during mindfulness-based stress reduction. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(2), 106-114, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/cou0000057.
10. Carmody, J., & Baer, R. A. (2008). Relationships between mindfulness practice and levels of mindfulness, medical and psychological symptoms and well-being in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 31(1), 23-33. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10865-007-9130-7
11. Reibel, D. K., Greeson, J. M., Brainard, G. C., & Rosenzweig, S. (2001). Mindfulness-based stress reduction and health-related quality of life in a heterogeneous patient population. General Hospital Psychiatry, 23(4), 183-192. doi:10.1016/S0163-8343(01)00149-9.
12. Sayadaw, M. (1991). Practical insight meditation: basic and progressive stages. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society. Then, U.P., Tin, M.U., Trans.
13. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living: how to cope with stress, pain and illness using mindfulness meditation. New York: Dell Publishing.
14. Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness-based interventions in context: past, present and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 144–156.
15. Keng, S-L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041–1056.
16. Gethin, R. (2011). On some definitions of mindfulness. Contemporary Buddhism 12(1): 263-279.
17. Rosing, K., & Baumann, N. (2008). The dark side of mindfulness: why mindfulness interventions are not beneficial for everyone. International Journal of Psychology, 43(3-4), 296.
18. Kasser, T. & Ryan, R. M. (1996). Further Examining the American Dream: Differential Correlates of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 22, 280-287.
19. Baumann, N., Kaschel, R. & Kuhl, J. (2005). Striving for Unwanted Goals: Stress-Dependent Discrepancies Between Explicit and Implicit Achievement Motives Reduce Subjective Well-Being and Increase Psychosomatic Symptoms. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 781-799.
20. Hart, R., I. Ivtzan, and D. Hart. (2013). Mind the gap in mindfulness research: A comparative account of the leading schools of thought. Review of General Psychology 17 (4): 453–466.
21. Bishop, S.R., M. Lau, S. Shapiro, L. Carlson, N.D. Anderson, J. Carmody, Z.V. Segal, S. Abbey, M. Speca, D. Velting, and G. Devins. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice 11 (3): 230–241.
22. Quaglia, J.T., K.W. Brown, E.K. Lindsay, J.D. Creswell, and R.J. Goodman. (2015). From conceptualization to operationalization of mindfulness. In Handbook of mindfulness: Theory, research, and practice, ed. K.W. Brown, J.D. Creswell, and R.M. Ryan, 151–170. New York: Guilford Press.
23. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1990). Full catastrophe living. New York: Delacorte.
24. Simmel, G. (1971). Sociability. In Georg Simmel: On individuality and social forms, ed. D.N. Levine, 127–140. Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press.
25. Karakayali, N. (2024). The normal is pathological: semi-conscious brains, mindless habits, and the paradoxical science of mindfulness. BioSocieties 19, 59–83.
26. Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: mindfulness and its role in psychological wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822–848.
27. Bergomi, C., Tschacher, W., & Kupper, Z. (2012). Measuring mindfulness: first steps towards the development of a comprehensive mindfulness scale. Mindfulness. Advance online publication. doi:10.1007/s12671-012-0102-9.
28. Kabat-Zinn, J. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. New York, NY: Hyperion.
29. Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L., & Burney, R. (1985). The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 8, 163-190.
30. Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological wellbeing. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 822-848.
31. Linley P.A., Maltby J., Wood A.M., Osborne G. & Hurling R. (2009). Measuring Happiness: The Higher-Order Factor Structure of Subjective and Psychological Well-Being Measures. Personality and Individual Differences, 47, 878-884. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.07.010
32. Gallagher M.W., Lopez S.J. & Preacher K.J. (2009). The Hierarchical Structure of Well-Being. Journal of Personality, 77(4), 1025-1050.
33. Deci E.L. & Ryan R.M. (2008). Hedonia, Eudaimonia, and Well-Being: An Introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 1-11.http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1.
34. Brown, K., Ryan, R. M., & Creswell, J. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18(4), 211-237. doi: l0.1080/1047840070159829.
35. Garland, E. L., Farb, N. A., Goldin, P. R., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2015). Mindfulness broadens awareness and builds eudaemonic meaning: A process model of mindful positive emotion regulation. Psychological Inquiry, 26(4), 293–314. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2015.1064294.
36. Coffey, K. A., & Hartman, M. (2008). Mechanisms of action in the inverse relationship between mindfulness and psychological distress. Complementary Health Practice Review, 13(2), 79–91.https://doi.org/10.1177/1533210108316307
37. Deci E.L. & Ryan R.M. (2008). Hedonia, Eudaimonia, and Well-Being: Introduction. Journal of Happiness Studies, 9, 1-11. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-006-9018-1.
38. Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Lykins, E., Button, D., Krietemeyer, J., Sauer, S., . . . Williams, J. M. G. (2008). Construct validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in meditating and nonmeditating samples. Assessment, 15, 329-342.
39. Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS Scales. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 1063–1070. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.54.6.1063.
40. Arthington, P. (2016) Mindfulness: A critical perspective. Community Psychology in Global Perspective 2(1): 87-104.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.59429/esp.v9i11.3129
(67 Abstract Views, 50 PDF Downloads0 PDF Downloads)
Refbacks
- There are currently no refbacks.
Copyright (c) 2025 Abhigyan Bhattacharjee，Shraddha Karki Chetry，Satish Chandra Ojha
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.