The Association Between Quality of Life and Resilience in Pregnant Women: The Mediating Role of Mindfulness
Amin Arabshahi, Mahdieh Alizadeh Jalali, Zabihollah Gharlipour
Research Square September 18, 2026 preprint DOI: 10.21203/rs.3.rs-10845069/v1 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study using structural equation modeling |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 250 |
| Population | Pregnant women attending healthcare centers in Qom, Iran, during 2024 |
| Measures | Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire–BREF (WHOQOL-BREF), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Quality of life had a strong positive direct association with resilience (standardized coefficient 0.77), and mindfulness had a smaller positive direct association (0.11). Mindfulness partially mediated the quality-of-life-resilience link (indirect effect 0.033), and the two variables together explained 55% of the variance in resilience. |
Abstract
Abstract Background Pregnancy is associated with extensive physiological and psychosocial changes that can increase maternal psychological vulnerability. Resilience, as a dynamic capacity for positive adaptation in the face of adversity, plays a key role in maintaining mental health during pregnancy; however, the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship remain less understood. The present study aimed to investigate the mediating role of mindfulness levels in the relationship between quality of life and resilience among pregnant women.
Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive-correlational study employed structural equation modeling (SEM). The statistical population consisted of all pregnant women attending healthcare centers in Qom, Iran, during 2024, of whom 250 were selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected using the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC, 2003), the World Health Organization Quality of Life Questionnaire–BREF (WHOQOL-BREF, 1996), and the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ, Baer et al., 2006). Data analysis was performed using Pearson correlation coefficient and structural equation modeling with maximum likelihood estimation, utilizing SPSS version 26 and AMOS version 24. To assess the significance of indirect effects, the bootstrap method with 2,000 resamples and a 95% confidence interval was employed.
Results: The final model demonstrated a good fit to the data (RMSEA = 0.08, GFI = 0.92, CFI = 0.94). Quality of life had a significant positive direct effect on resilience (β = 0.77, P < 0.001), and mindfulness also showed a significant direct effect on resilience (β = 0.11, P = 0.049). Furthermore, the indirect effect of quality of life on resilience through mindfulness was significant, with a standardized coefficient of 0.033 (P < 0.001), indicating partial mediation. Quality of life and mindfulness together explained 55% of the variance in resilience (R² = 0.55). Conclusions
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 |