Meditation and Five Precepts Mediate the Relationship between Attachment and Resilience.
Justin DeMaranville, Tinakon Wongpakaran, Nahathai Wongpakaran, Danny Wedding
Children March 7, 2022 DOI: 10.3390/children9030371 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional survey with parallel mediation analysis Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 453 |
| Population | 10th–12th-grade boarding school students (mean age 16.35 years; 87.9% female; 89.2% Buddhist) |
| Interventions | Meditation Precept practice |
| Measures | Experience of Close Relationship Questionnaire (revised), Resilience Inventory, Inner Strength-Based Inventory, Precept Practice |
| Topics | Anxiety Buddhism Meditation |
| Keywords | Attachment Adolescent Resilience Avoidance Boarding school Precept |
| Key findings | Attachment anxiety and avoidance were indirectly associated with lower resilience through meditation and precept practices. The indirect effect via meditation was significantly larger than via precepts. The parallel mediation model explained 33% of resilience variance, compared with 23% for attachment alone. |
Abstract
Secure attachment is fundamental to the development of resilience among adolescents. The present study investigated whether meditation and precept practices influence the relationship between attachment and resilience. This study recruited 453 10th−12th-grade boarding school students who completed the Experience of Close Relationship Questionnaire (revised), Resilience Inventory, Inner Strength-Based Inventory, and Precept Practice to assess attachment, resilience, meditation practice, and precepts adherence. The participants’ mean age was 16.35 ± 0.96 years; 87.9% were females, and 89.2% were Buddhists. A parallel mediation model within the structural equation framework was used for an analysis of the indirect effect of attachment on resilience through meditation and precept practices. The indirect effects of attachment anxiety and avoidance on resilience were β = −0.086, 95% CI = −0.125, −0.054, p < 0.001, and β = −0.050, 95% CI = −0.088, −0.021, p = 0.006, respectively. The indirect effect size resulting from meditation was significantly higher than that resulting from observance of the precepts. The parallel mediation model explained the 33% variance of the resilience scores, compared with 23% from the direct effect of attachment anxiety and avoidance only. This work provides evidence that meditation and precepts significantly affect the relationship between attachment and resilience.
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 6
- Synergistic effects of Buddhist five precepts and death contemplation on inner strengths and mental health in elderly Thai meditators. BMC Psychology December 8, 2025
- A comparative study of the impact of meditation and Buddhist five precepts on stress and depression between older adults and younger adults. Scientific Reports May 6, 2025
- The Relationship Between Feelings of Emptiness and Self-Harm Among Thai Patients Exhibiting Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms: The Mediating Role of the Inner Strengths. Medicina (Kaunas, Lithuania) October 30, 2024
- Buddha image meditation is a potent predictor for mental health outcomes: A cross-sectional study among Thai high-school students. PLoS One 2025
- From Buddhist meditation to psychological well-being: an ethical-cultural training ecology model Frontiers in Psychology September 3, 2026
and 1 more in the library
Cites 7
- Mindfulness: Theoretical Foundations and Evidence for its Salutary Effects Psychological Inquiry October 19, 2007
- Daily Mindful Responding Mediates the Effect of Meditation Practice on Stress and Mood: The Role of Practice Duration and Adherence. Journal of Clinical Psychology January 2018
- The Relationship Between Adult Attachment Orientation and Mindfulness: a Systematic Review and Meta-analysis Mindfulness December 1, 2017
- Attachment Security and Self-compassion Priming Increase the Likelihood that First-time Engagers in Mindfulness Meditation Will Continue with Mindfulness Training Mindfulness February 29, 2016
- Meditation and mindfulness in clinical practice. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America July 1, 2014
and 2 more in the library