Does self-esteem mediate the association between perfectionism and mindfulness among Lebanese university students?

Objectives: To evaluate the associations between mindfulness, self-esteem and perfectionism in a Lebanese sample of university students, as well as the indirect effect of self-esteem between mindfulness and perfectionism was investigated.

Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out between July and September 2021. A total of 363 university students were recruited through convenience sampling through several universities in Lebanon's governorates. An online survey that included a part that collected sociodemographic information, the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory to assess mindfulness, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale to assess self-esteem and the Big Three Perfectionism Scale to assess perfectionism was completed by participants.

Results: Higher self-esteem (Beta = 1.30) was significantly associated with more mindfulness, whereas higher self-critical perfectionism (Beta = - 0.61) was significantly associated with less mindfulness. Self-esteem mediated the association between self-critical and narcissistic perfectionism and mindfulness. More perfectionism was significantly and directly associated with less mindfulness and lower self-esteem, whereas higher self-esteem was significantly associated with more mindfulness.

Conclusion: This study provides valuable findings that enable practitioners to effectively identify people needing interventions to improve psychological health through mindfulness, self-esteem and perfectionism. The conclusions that can be deduced from this study can help educational psychologists and counselors guide university students towards effective mindfulness practices that can increase self-esteem levels and balance maladaptive perfectionism that can cause distress and impairment in the social and academic settings.