Pathways from Mindfulness to Psychological Well-Being: The Interplay of Gratitude, Love for Animals, and Cat Ownership
Çiğdem Gülden
Erzincan Üniversitesi Eğitim Fakültesi Dergisi October 21, 2026 DOI: 10.17556/erziefd.1954914 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Observational cross-sectional survey Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 408 |
| Population | Adults from Türkiye with an average age of 35 |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key findings | Gratitude and love for animals each mediated the positive association between mindfulness and psychological well-being. Psychological well-being correlated positively with mindfulness, gratitude, and love for animals, and cat owners reported higher mindfulness, well-being, and love for animals than non-cat owners. |
Abstract
This study examined the parallel mediating roles of gratitude and love for animals in the association between mindfulness and psychological well-being on a sample of 408 adults. The study was conducted on 408 adult participants from Türkiye with an average age of 35. The results showed that psychological well-being was positively correlated with mindfulness, gratitude, and love for animals. Furthermore, mindfulness was positively correlated with gratitude and love for animals, while gratitude was also positively correlated with love for animals. Gratitude and love for animals mediated the association between mindfulness and psychological well-being. Additionally, individuals who owned cats reported higher levels of mindfulness, psychological well-being, and love for animals compared to non-cat owners. These findings contribute to the psychological counseling and positive psychology literature by elucidating pathways through which mindfulness is associated with psychological well-being. Overall, the study suggests that individual capacities and contextual factors may play a combined role in the relationship between psychological well-being, and points to the possibility that mindfulness-based interventions incorporating relational and experiential components, including human-animal interactions, may be worth investigating.
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 17
- The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 2003
- Using Self-Report Assessment Methods to Explore Facets of Mindfulness Assessment January 27, 2006
- Loving-kindness and compassion meditation: potential for psychological interventions. Clinical Psychology Review July 26, 2011
- What does mindfulness really mean? A canonical perspective Contemporary Buddhism May 1, 2011
- Exploring self‐compassion and empathy in the context of mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) Stress and Health March 15, 2010
and 12 more in the library