The Bridge of Hope: Mediating the Relationship Between Mindfulness and Loneliness
Daniel Gutiérrez, Margaret M. Poandl, Emily Kitching
The Journal of Humanistic Counseling June 23, 2026 DOI: 10.1002/johc.70050 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 676 |
| Population | Interpersonal trauma experiencers recruited online from a crowdsourcing platform |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Loneliness Psychological intervention Mental health Social connectedness Interpersonal communication Structural equation modeling Cognition Clinical psychology Psychotherapist Interpersonal relationship Intervention counseling Bridge graph theory Social support Social relationship |
| Key findings | Hope fully mediated the relationship between mindfulness and social connectedness, indicating that mindfulness's association with social connectedness operates through hope. The authors propose that cultivating hopeful cognition through therapeutic and contemplative practices may help treat loneliness in interpersonal trauma experiencers. |
Abstract
ABSTRACT This cross‐sectional study sought to explore hope as a mediator between mindfulness and loneliness and social connectedness by using a structural equation modeling data analysis approach to analyze the relationships. Among a sample of 676 interpersonal trauma experiencers recruited online from a crowdsourcing platform, hope fully mediated the relationship between mindfulness and social connectedness. These results expand understanding of the psychological underpinnings of loneliness and social connectedness, and provide implications for mental health practitioners to intentionally cultivate hopeful cognition through therapeutic and contemplative practices as a way to treat loneliness in interpersonal trauma experiencers. With loneliness on the rise, mental health professionals should consider hope‐ and mindfulness‐based interventions as potentially transformative.
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 |
Citations in the library
Cites 3
- The Effectiveness of a Centering Meditation Intervention on College Stress and Mindfulness: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Frontiers in Psychology October 21, 2021
- Mindfulness training reduces loneliness and increases social contact in a randomized controlled trial Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences February 11, 2019
- Meditation, mindfulness and cognitive flexibility. Consciousness and Cognition March 2009