Skip to content

The Mediating Role of Hope with Mindfulness: Empathy

Beste Erdinç, Yusuf Akyıl, Tuncay Oral, Süleyman Akçıl

Mersin Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi December 22, 2025 DOI: 10.17860/mersinefd.1526765 (opens in new tab)

Relevant Not relevant

Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Cross-sectional survey with mediation analysis via structural equation modeling Peer reviewed
Sample size 833
Population 139 male and 694 female voluntary participants
Measures Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Toronto Empathy Scale, Persevering Hope Scale
Topics Meditation
Key findings The authors report that empathy mediates the relationship between mindfulness and hope: mindfulness predicts hope indirectly via empathy. They suggest that people who practice mindfulness may have higher empathy and hope, and propose that mindfulness-based programs could help produce more empathetic and hopeful individuals.

Abstract

It is an important characteristic that individuals do not become hopeless in the face of adversity but instead strive with determination to achieve their goals and look forward to the future with hope. Hopelessness can lead to negative outcomes in people's lives. It is also a positive psychological indicator that people can empathize with others. Individuals can become aware of the feelings and thoughts of others and understand events from their perspective. Individuals may miss many moments while going about their daily lives. In this case, the concept of mindfulness, which expresses people's focus on the present moment, comes to the forefront. In this context, the current study seeks to investigate the role of empathy in mediating the concepts of mindfulness and hope. The relationships between these variables have never been examined before, and they are addressed for the first time in the current study. The data was collected with the voluntary participation of 139 male and 694 female participants. The Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Toronto Empathy Scale, and Persevering Hope Scale were used as measurement tools during data collection. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was used to conduct mediation analysis. According to the findings, empathy plays a crucial role in mediating mindfulness and hope. In other words, mindfulness predicts hope indirectly via empathy. According to the study's findings, people who practice mindfulness may have higher levels of empathy and hope. In this regard, mindfulness-based programs are thought to be effective in bringing both improved empathy and more hopeful individuals into society.

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 8

and 3 more in the library

Related reading

Explore topics

Meditation