Mindfulness, professional calling, and academic engagement: a parallel mediation model of presence and search among medical students.

Background: Medical education requires students to sustain high levels of academic commitment under demanding conditions, which makes academic engagement a critical factor for their success and well-being. Mindfulness has been linked to improved academic outcomes through enhanced attention, emotional regulation, stress reduction, and performance improvement. However, the mechanisms underlying its association with academic engagement among medical students remain insufficiently understood, particularly regarding the mediating roles of the presence of calling and the search for calling, which have been rarely examined. This study investigated the relationship between mindfulness and academic engagement and tested a parallel mediation model in which the presence of calling and the search for calling mediated this association among medical students.

Methods: A total of 503 undergraduates from clinical medicine and related disciplines completed the Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale (CAMS-R), the Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students (UWES-S), and the Calling and Vocation Questionnaire (CVQ). Correlation analysis examined associations among the variables. Mediation analysis tested the indirect effects of the presence of calling and the search for calling. Control variables, including gender, age, and academic level, were also examined.

Results: Pearson correlation analysis showed that mindfulness was positively associated with academic engagement, presence of calling, and search for calling. Mediation analysis indicated that the direct association between mindfulness and academic engagement was not significant; however, both mediators contributed significantly to the indirect associations, with search for calling demonstrating a stronger role. Among the control variables, only academic level showed a significant positive association with academic engagement, whereas gender and age did not show significant associations.

Conclusion: These findings indicate that mindfulness is related to academic engagement through its associations with the dual dimensions of professional calling. Prior research has suggested that mindfulness-based interventions may be considered potential approaches to supporting students' engagement by enhancing attentional and emotional regulation while fostering a stronger sense of vocational purpose.