The Link between Mindfulness and Psychological Resilience Among Adult Populations

Abstract

Jovaisaite, B. (2024). The Link Between Mindfulness and Psychological Resilience (Bachelor Thesis in Health Psychology). Supervisor: Lect. Linas Leonas. Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Academy of Medicine, Faculty of Public Health, Department of Health Psychology: Kaunas. – 56 p. Research Problem. Mindfulness has shown promising benefits yet remains a relatively new research phenomenon. Modern lifestyles stress the need for enhancing resilience, therefore investigating how mindfulness practices may be associated with resilience may provide insights into the mechanisms of mindfulness and effective mental health strategies for the 21st century. Research Methods. 284 adults who participated in the study were split into two groups: 91 mindfulness practitioners and 193 non-practitioners serving as controls. Data collection involved questionnaire assessing mindfulness and resilience, using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and Connor Davidson Resilience Scale. Additional queries about patterns of mindfulness usage and perceived effectiveness were applied. Participants were recruited through social media, snowball sampling and university emails. For not normally distributed data including age and occupation, non-parametric statistics were used including the Kruskal-Wallis test. For parametric data including gender, resilience scores and mindfulness scores, Independent Samples T-test was employed. The associations between mindfulness and resilience were conducted using Pearson Correlation Coefficient. Research results. Statistically significant differences were found between mindfulness scores and those who practice frequently and with multiple techniques. Statistically significant differences were also found between mindfulness scores and all 3 demographic characteristics: gender, age, occupation. Women were found to be more mindful (i.e., tendency to be focused on the present moment and being aware of sensations, thoughts, feelings, and behavior), whereas men were found to be more resilient (i.e., successfully adapting to stressors and maintaining or thriving in face of adversities). Statistical significance also indicated that mindfulness increases with age and is mostly associated with the healthcare and wellness sectors. No statistical significance was observed in resilience with age and occupation. Also, no statistical significance was found in frequency and variety of mindfulness techniques used with resilience. Statistically significant differences were found in resilience scores between the two groups, particularly the mindfulness group excelled in the hardiness, adaptability, meaning and self-efficacy facets of resilience. Although a weak relationship, statistically significant correlations revealed that overall mindfulness and resilience were associated, especially found to be associated with all but one mindfulness facets- non-judgement, while the strongest link was found to be with the ‘non-reactivity’ aspect of mindfulness. Conclusion. Regular and diverse mindfulness practices statistically significantly improve skills associated with ‘observing’ and ‘describing’, at which women were found to be more proficient, whilst men showed higher resilience in facets such as hardiness and self-efficacy. A weak, but significant relationship was revealed between mindfulness and resilience across all but one mindfulness facets- ‘non-judgement’.