The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being.

Abstract

Mindfulness is an attribute of consciousness long believed to promote well-being. This research provides a theoretical and empirical examination of the role of mindfulness in psychological well-being. The development and psychometric properties of the dispositional Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS) are described. Correlational, quasi-experimental, and laboratory studies then show that the MAAS measures a unique quality of consciousness that is related to a variety of well-being constructs, that differentiates mindfulness practitioners from others, and that is associated with enhanced self-awareness. An experience-sampling study shows that both dispositional and state mindfulness predict self-regulated behavior and positive emotional states. Finally, a clinical intervention study with cancer patients demonstrates that increases in mindfulness over time relate to declines in mood disturbance and stress.

In the evidence

This study is part of the evidence base for a synthesis in the library. Here is how each one recorded it.

• State of the evidence: Meditation ↑Supports

  Dispositional and state mindfulness were associated with well-being, self-regulated behavior, and positive emotion, and increases in mindfulness over time related to declines in mood disturbance and stress in cancer patients.

  Synthesized October 19, 2026

Comparable studies

Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.