The effects of mindfulness on psychological thriving among urban park visitors: evidence from three experimental studies
Bingyan Meng, Jun Cao, Yunyun Wei, Rui Chang, Fuqiang Tan
Frontiers in Public Health December 16, 2025 DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1638301 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experimental study (three experiments) Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Urban park visitors (implied, not explicitly stated) |
| Interventions | Digital mindfulness training Traditional mindfulness training |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Thriving Mental health Urban park Public health Urban community Clinical psychology |
| Citations | 1 |
| Key findings | Digital mindfulness training was more effective than traditional mindfulness training in enhancing psychological thriving, with grit and meaning in life as serial mediators and body appreciation as a moderator. |
Abstract
Amidst ongoing urbanization, understanding how to effectively enhance visitor well-being (e.g., Psychological Thriving) in accessible natural settings like urban parks is crucial. Mindfulness interventions offer a promising avenue, yet the comparative efficacy of different delivery modes (digital vs. traditional) and their underlying psychological pathways remain underexplored. Targeting this, three experiments were conducted to explore the effect of the form of mindfulness training (digital vs. traditional) on individual Psychological Thriving, its underlying mechanisms, and boundary conditions. Results from Experiment 1 indicated that the form of mindfulness training significantly influenced individual Psychological Thriving (H1), with digital mindfulness training being more effective than traditional mindfulness training in enhancing Psychological Thriving. Experiment 2 further revealed that Grit and Meaning in life played a serial mediating role in the relationship between the form of mindfulness training and Psychological Thriving: the form of mindfulness training indirectly impacted Psychological Thriving (H4) by first influencing individual Grit (H2), which subsequently affected their Meaning in life (H3). Finally, Experiment 3 confirmed that Body Appreciation moderated the relationship between the form of mindfulness training and Psychological Thriving (H5, H6), indicating that the effect of the mindfulness training form on Psychological Thriving varied depending on individuals' levels of Body Appreciation. All hypotheses were empirically supported. Collectively, these findings deepen the understanding of different mindfulness intervention pathways and their psychological effects, offering new theoretical perspectives and practical implications for enhancing individual positive psychological states. Clinical trial registration: https://www.chictr.org.cn/, Identifier ChiCTR2500103568.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 2
- The effect of brief digital mindfulness-based interventions on increasing online charitable behavior in Chinese adolescents. Frontiers in Psychology August 2, 2023
- Artificial intelligence-assisted mindfulness in tourism, hospitality, and events International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management June 16, 2023