Relationship between Mindfulness and Mental Health in Older Adults
Ruirui Li, Haiqing Wang
Journal of advances in engineering and technology. July 17, 2026 DOI: 10.62177/jaet.v3i3.1531 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 301 |
| Population | Retired older adults aged over 60 years in China |
| Topics | Anxiety Meditation |
| Keywords | Mental health Multilevel model Facet psychology Emotional distress Psychological distress Descriptive statistics Regression analysis Clinical psychology Psychological intervention |
| Key findings | Mindfulness was significantly positively correlated with and predicted mental health among older adults. |
Abstract
Objective: To explore the relationship between mindfulness and mental health among older adults, and to further examine the predictive effect of mindfulness on mental health.
Methods: Based on the original survey data, 301 retired older adults aged over 60 years were selected as participants, and only two core variables, mindfulness and mental health, were retained for analysis. The Chinese short form of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire was used to measure mindfulness, and the psychological sub-health subscale of the Sub-health Rating Scale was used to measure mental health. SPSS was used for descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation analysis, and simple linear regression analysis.
Results: Mindfulness was significantly and positively correlated with mental health among older adults (r=0.933, p<0.001). Further simple linear regression analysis showed that mindfulness significantly and positively predicted mental health (β=0.933, t=44.830, p<0.001).
Conclusion: Higher mindfulness is associated with better mental health in older adults. As a psychological resource emphasizing present-moment awareness, nonjudgmental acceptance, and emotion regulation, mindfulness may help older adults better cope with physical and psychological changes, life stress, and emotional distress during aging. Improving mindfulness may be an important approach to promoting mental health and active aging.
Comparable studies
Other cross-sectional and survey studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Construct Validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in Meditating and Nonmeditating Samples Experienced meditators and nonmeditating comparison groups | 2008 | Cross-sectional study | |
| Neural Correlates of Dispositional Mindfulness During Affect Labeling Adult participants | 2007 | Observational cross-sectional | n = 27 |
| Assessing mindfulness in children and adolescents: Development and validation of the Child and Adolescent Mindfulness Measure (CAMM). School-aged children and adolescents | 2011 | Cross-sectional validation study | n = 1,413 |
| Mindfulness and self-compassion as predictors of psychological wellbeing in long-term meditators and matched nonmeditators Experienced meditators and demographically matched nonmeditators | 2012 | Cross-sectional study | n = 152 |
| Mechanisms of Action in the Inverse Relationship Between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress Undergraduates | 2008 | Cross-sectional, correlational |