Mindfulness and its relationship to academic achievement among university students
Hassan Alomari
Frontiers in Education June 28, 2023 DOI: 10.3389/feduc.2023.1179584 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey study Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 489 |
| Population | Male and female university students from public universities |
| Measures | Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Universities Students Achievement |
| Key findings | University students showed moderate levels of mindfulness across all five FFMQ facets, with no significant differences between genders. Students with higher academic achievement tended to report greater mindfulness, but the association was weak, explaining less than 1% of the variance in academic performance. |
Abstract
The primary objective of this study was to assess the degree of mindfulness among university students based on their gender and academic achievement level. To accomplish this, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) was employed, consisting of 39 items categorized into five factors: observation, description, acting with awareness, nonjudging, and nonreactivity. The questionnaire was initially translated into Arabic and applied to a pilot sample of 60 male and female students to assess item characteristics and verify the validity and reliability of the scale. Following the finalization of the questionnaire, it was administered to a cluster sample of 489 male and female students from public universities. The results indicated a moderate level of mindfulness across all five domains, with no significant gender differences. Furthermore, the study revealed that students with higher academic achievement displayed greater mindfulness. However, the relationship between mindfulness and academic achievement was weak, explaining less than 1% of the variance in academic performance.
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
Cited by 8
- The association between mindfulness, resilience, and academic achievement of pharmacy students in Saudi Arabia Frontiers in Public Health October 22, 2024
- Self-Esteem Mediates the Effect of Yoga-Induced Mindfulness on Adolescents’ Emotional and Behavioral Problems and Pro-Social Behavior Youth & Society January 18, 2025
- Cultivating Academic Excellence: Unveiling the Impact of Mindfulness Through Psychological Capital Among Nursing Students. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing June 1, 2025
- Test anxiety, psychological adaptability, and learning performance: Effects of a mindfulness training intervention on university students. Journal of Education and Health Promotion July 31, 2025
- Mindfulness and foreign language achievement: a meta-analytic study on interventions and correlations. Frontiers in Psychology May 14, 2025
and 3 more in the library
Cites 19
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Mind the Hype: A Critical Evaluation and Prescriptive Agenda for Research on Mindfulness and Meditation Perspectives on Psychological Science October 10, 2017
- Teaching self-care to caregivers: Effects of mindfulness-based stress reduction on the mental health of therapists in training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology May 1, 2007
- Mindfulness Training Improves Working Memory Capacity and GRE Performance While Reducing Mind Wandering Psychological Science March 28, 2013
- Cultivating mindfulness: effects on well‐being Journal of Clinical Psychology May 16, 2008
and 14 more in the library