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Relationship of Mindfulness Receptivity to Religiosity, Personality, and Depression and Anxiety

Kevin M. Kieffer, Michael J. Tkacik, Jeffrey M. Anderson

Kaleidoscope Integrating Research Across Disciplines March 22, 2026 DOI: 10.66980/reepws45 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract
Characteristics Observational survey Peer reviewed
Sample size 217
Population College students in the United States
Measures Brief Five-Factor Model Questionnaire (B-FFM), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Receptivity to Mindfulness Questionnaire (RMQ), Religiosity Measure (RM), Religious Orientation Scale (ROS)
Topics Anxiety Depression Meditation
Key findings Among 217 college students, agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness, and neuroticism, depression and stress scores, consequential religiosity, and intrinsic religion were the strongest predictors of receptivity to mindfulness. The authors had hypothesized that more open and agreeable individuals, religious group members, and those with depression, anxiety, or stress would be most receptive.

Abstract

Anxiety, stress, and depression continue to increase in the general United States population, and college students particularly have been impacted with nearly half of all students reporting that they struggle with their mental health. Mindfulness is one way to combat such mental health issues and is part of many organized religions such as Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and any religious tradition in which contemplative prayer is present, and mindfulness also has been found to be associated with personality traits as well. The purpose of the present study was to explore mindfulness in the context of self-identified religion, personality, and mental health variables, and we hypothesized that those individuals who were more open and agreeable, who were part of a religious group, and who evidenced depressive, anxiety, or stress-related issues would be most receptive to mindfulness. A total of 217 participants completed the Brief Five-Factor Model Questionnaire (B-FFM), Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-21), Receptivity to Mindfulness Questionnaire (RMQ), Religiosity Measure (RM), and Religious Orientation Scale (ROS). Results indicated that the Five-Factor Model subscales of Agreeableness, Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness, and Neuroticism, the DASS-21 subscales of depression and stress, the RM Consequential Religiosity scale, and the ROS Intrinsic Religion scale were the strongest predictors of receptivity to mindfulness. Implications for educators and mental health clinicians are offered.

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

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Anxiety Depression Meditation Buddhism Mystical experience