Associations between psychological distress and facets of mindfulness: Implications for campus-based university wellness services

Abstract

Objectives

To investigate associations between components of psychological distress and five facets of mindfulness (i.e. observing; describing; acting with awareness; non-reactivity; non-judging).

Participants

Students from a university in South Africa (n = 174).

Methods

This cross-sectional study assessed psychological distress and mindfulness using the K10 and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis identified associations between psychological distress and facets of mindfulness, controlling for demographics.

Results

Prevalence of psychological distress was 56.9% (95% CI 49.2%–64.4%). Acting with awareness, non-reactivity, and non-judging predicted significantly lower psychological distress, whereas observing and describing did not. Acting with awareness was the only facet of mindfulness that consistently predicted lower levels of negative affect, fatigue, nervousness, and agitation.

Conclusions

Acting with awareness appears to be a key component of psychological wellbeing. To advance theory and practice, future research should consider why and how various facets of mindfulness predict lower psychological distress and its components among university students.

Keywords:

• Mental health
• mindfulness
• psychological distress
• South Africa
• university students

Author contributions

JWB was the principal investigator of this project as part of his Master’s in Science in Sport and Exercise Medicine. WD conceptualized and designed the MaRooN Health Passport and the larger study of non-communicable disease risk factors. JWB developed the initial proposal for this study with WD and JG as supervisors. JB, JWB, and JG analyzed the data. JWB, JB, JG, SW, and WD all contributed to the interpretation of the data and writing the manuscript. All authors approved the final version.

Data availability

Data from the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Disclaimer

The authors declare that the results of this study are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation. The views expressed in this article are the authors own views and not an official position of their institutions.

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements, of South Africa and received approval from the Research Ethics Committee: Social, Behavioral and Education Research at Stellenbosch University.

Funding

The authors received no specific grant or financial support for thisresearch. JB receives financial support from the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) through its Division of Research CapacityDevelopment under the Mid-Career Scientist Program. The contenthereof is the sole responsibility of the authors and does not necessarilyrepresent the official views of the SAMRC.