How Does Mindfulness Alleviate Panic Buying: The Mediating Role of Social Alienation and Death Anxiety.
Yuxuan Tan, Rong Huang, Zhuo Chen
Psychology Research and Behavior Management 2025 DOI: 10.2147/PRBM.S496339 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Two-wave survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 342 |
| Population | Chinese college students |
| Duration | Two-wave survey with a one-week interval |
| Topics | Meditation Anxiety |
| Keywords | Death anxiety Panic buying Social alienation |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Mindfulness is negatively related to panic buying, mediated by social alienation and death anxiety. |
Abstract
Health crises and disease outbreaks can trigger public fear, leading to behaviors such as panic buying. It's crucial to learn from past outbreaks and identify factors that can curb panic buying, enabling more effective management of this phenomenon. Although mindfulness has been shown to influence individual consumption behavior, no research to date has explored its association with panic buying. This research utilizes terror management theory to investigate the influence of mindfulness, as a personality trait, on panic buying during a health crisis, and to explore the sequential mediating roles of social alienation and death anxiety. A two-wave survey was administered to 342 Chinese college students during the COVID-19 outbreak. Initially, students provided their mindfulness levels and demographic information. A week later, participants who had completed the first wave reported their panic buying intentions, social alienation, and death anxiety. Structural Equation Modeling analysis revealed a negative relationship between mindfulness and panic buying, with social alienation and death anxiety acting as both parallel and serial mediators in this relationship. Our research deepens the understanding of mindfulness from a consumer behavior perspective, fills a gap in the study of mindfulness and panic buying, and uncovers the "black box" of this relationship. The findings highlight the potential of mindfulness in mitigating panic buying during crises, offering practical implications for managing pandemic-related challenges and providing valuable insights for future research on mindful consumption.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on anxiety, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychological flexibility mediates the relations between acute psychedelic effects and subjective decreases in depression and anxiety. International sample of people who reported having used a psychedelic | 2020 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 985 |
| The Challenging Experience Questionnaire: Characterization of challenging experiences with psilocybin mushrooms Internet survey respondents reporting challenging experiences with psilocybin | 2016 | Questionnaire development and validation | |
| Psychedelics and Mental Health: A Population Study Adult population in the United States | 2013 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 130,152 |
| Ecstasy/MDMA attributed problems reported by novice, moderate and heavy recreational users Ecstasy users who participated in a WWW study of recreational drug use | 2002 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 282 |
| 5-methoxy-N,N-dimethyltryptamine (5-MeO-DMT) used in a naturalistic group setting is associated with unintended improvements in depression and anxiety. Adults who used 5-MeO-DMT in a group setting with structured procedures | 2019 | Cross-sectional survey | n = 362 |
Citations in the library
Cites 11
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Meta-analytic evidence for effects of mindfulness training on dimensions of self-reported dispositional mindfulness. Psychological Assessment 2016
- Being present in the face of existential threat: The role of trait mindfulness in reducing defensive responses to mortality salience. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology July 26, 2010
- Interoception Drives Increased Rational Decision-Making in Meditators Playing the Ultimatum Game Frontiers in Neuroscience 2011
- The Relationship Between Trait Mindfulness and Well-Being in College Students: The Serial Mediation Role of Flow Experience and Sports Participation. Psychology Research and Behavior Management 2023
and 6 more in the library