Dispositional mindfulness and mental health in Hong Kong college students: The mediating roles of decentering and self-acceptance

Objective Although numerous studies have supported an association between dispositional mindfulness and individuals' mental health, the mechanism on how mindfulness exerts its effect is still unclear. This study aimed to examine decentering and self-acceptance as two potential mediating variables between college students' dispositional mindfulness and mental health. Method Participants were 231 college students (female = 68%, M-age = 18.54) from Hong Kong, China. They completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, General Health Questionnaire, scales of Decentering and Self-acceptance. Results Dispositional mindfulness was negatively related to mental health problems, and this relationship was significantly mediated by both decentering and self-acceptance. These two mediating variables accounted for 28% variance of mental health problems. In addition, the indirect effect with decentering as mediating variable minus the indirect effect with self-acceptance as mediating variable was significant. This result indicated that self-acceptance contributed more than decentering to the indirect effect of dispositional mindfulness on mental health. Conclusion This research shed light upon the mechanism underlying mindfulness and mental health among college students and highlighted the needs to consider the important roles of self-acceptance and decentering in the effect of mindfulness when predicting college students' mental health.