How do dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion alleviate loneliness? The mediating role of rejection sensitivity

Loneliness is detrimental to both mental and physical health. Previous studies have suggested that mindfulness and self-compassion could alleviate loneliness, but the mechanisms are largely unknown. The current cross-sectional study investigated whether rejection sensitivity played a mediating role in the associations between dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion with loneliness. Two hundred and seventy-five Canadian adults were recruited from social media platforms and filled out questionnaires measuring dispositional mindfulness, self-compassion, rejection sensitivity, and loneliness. Results of data analyses showed that both dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion were significantly and negatively associated with rejection sensitivity and loneliness. Rejection sensitivity had a significant and positive relationship with loneliness. Most importantly, rejection sensitivity significantly mediated the associations between dispositional mindfulness and self-compassion with loneliness. The results suggest that rejection sensitivity can explain the relationship mindfulness and self-compassion have with loneliness. This study provides a new perspective for understanding how and why mindfulness and self-compassion could alleviate loneliness. It also suggests that the impact mindfulness and self-compassion training have on loneliness could be maximized by focusing on rejection sensitivity.