Self-compassion and grit mediated the relation between mindfulness and mind wandering based on cross-sectional survey data

www.nature.com/scientificreports OPEN Self‑compassion and grit mediated the relation between mindfulness and mind wandering based on cross‑sectional survey data Rebecca Y. M. Cheung * & Lemuela Djekou Previous research suggests that mindfulness and mind wandering are opposing constructs. However, little is known about why and how they are negatively related. Through a process-oriented approach, this cross-sectional study tested self-compassion and grit as mediators for the relation between mindfulness and mind wandering. A total of 487 self-identified meditators were recruited from the UK (241 female, 49.49%). Participants reported a mean age of 38.98 years (SD = 10.03), with an average of 2.26 h of meditation practice per week (SD = 4.47). Upon informed consent, the participants completed a self-report questionnaire that assessed the core variables under study. Path analysis indicated that mindfulness was related to self-compassion. Greater self-compassion was, in turn, related to greater grit, which was then related to lower mind wandering. Bootstrapping analysis further indicated that self-compassion and grit as mediators between mindfulness and mind wandering, above and beyond age, gender, hours of meditation, income, and education as covariates. The cross-sectional findings provided initial evidence of mediation by showing that mindfulness and mind wandering were related through self-compassion and grit. Keywords Grit, Meditators, Mindfulness, Mind wandering, Self-compassion Mindfulness refers to the awareness arising from paying attention to the present moment, on purpose, and without judgment1. Over the last decade, a growing body of research has indicated that mindfulness is associated with better psychological functioning, including better emotion r egulation2,3, better life s atisfaction4,5, and fewer affective symptoms6,7. Of note, the relation between the opposing constructs of mindfulness and mind wandering has received some scientific a ttention8. According to Smallwood and Schooler9, mind wandering refers to taskunrelated thoughts and are stimulus-independent. When individuals are dispositionally more mindful, they are also less likely to engage in mind w andering8. This relation is further supported by mindfulness-based interventions involving university students, which show that mindfulness practice is related to fewer distracting thoughts and fewer episodes of mind wandering8,10,11. Despite the findings between the constructs, little is known about why and how mindfulness is associated with mind wandering. In addition, the studies in this area often involve university students8,11, rather than individuals from other developmental periods or other contexts. To address the gap in the literature, this cross-sectional study explored self-compassion and grit as the potential mediators between mindfulness and mind wandering in a sample of meditators residing in the UK. Mindfulness and self‑compassion As a correlate of m indfulness12, self-compassion may serve as a process between mindfulness and mind wandering. According to Goetz et al.13, p. 351, compassion refers to “the feeling that arises in witnessing another’s suffering and that motivates a subsequent desire to help”. Other scholars similarly define compassion as a response to suffering, which is universal among all human b eings14,15. Gu et al.16 pointed out that compassion can be directed to the self or to other people. Importantly, self-compassion has three components including self-kindness, common humanity, and mindfulness during the encounter with suffering, as opposed to, self-judgment, isolation, and over-identification to specific experiences15. Although mindfulness is a component of self-compassion, Neff15 suggested that mindfulness forms the basis for self-kindness and common humanity, and that mindfulness and self-compassion are theoretically overlapping but distinct concepts17. Similarly, Voci et al.12 argued School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, UK. *email: rebecca.cheung@ reading.ac.uk Scientific Reports | (2024) 14:9090 | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-024-58395-y 1 Vol.:(0123456789) www.nature.com/scientificreports/ that self-compassion is an “heartful” aspect of mindfulness that highlights a caring attitude and heartfulness towards oneself. Previous studies indicated that mindfulness, self-compassion, and mental health are closely connected12,18,19. Grounded in mindfulness-to-meaning theory20, mindfulness fosters people’s tendency towards decentering, i.e., to be aware of thoughts and feelings from a distance and examine them, instead of viewing them as necessarily true21. Rather than being on autopilot and habitually reacting to stressful situations, decentering further supports people to pause, have a broadened awareness and attention to the context, and reappraise the situation in a more objective and positive way20. Through this process, people have a greater capability to respond adaptively and skillfully to the stressor20,21, e.g., to generate compassion rather than criticisms towards the self and the others, which is further linked to a greater meaning in life. Supporting the basis of mindfulness-to-meaning theory20, previous research indicated that self-compassion mediated the relation between dispositional mindfulness and a myriad of psychological outcomes, including better psychological well-being among meditators and nonmeditators12,22, greater academic resilience among underprivileged university s tudents23, and lower severity of social anxiety among individuals with social anxiety d isorder24. Mindfulness and grit As discussed earlier, mindfulness-to-meaning t heory20 postulates that by attending to the present moment without judgment, individuals are supported to broaden their awareness to information that may otherwise have gone unnoticed25. The broadened, non-judgmental, and present-moment awareness may serve as a foundation for skillful responses, as opposed to habitual patterns of autopilot, reactivity, or dysregulation. As such, mindfulness supports individuals’ awareness of conflicting goals and autonomy to prioritize long-term goals over hedonically pleasant activities26. This is consistent with the principles of self-determination t heory27, which identifies autonomy as a fundamental psychological need. When people are high on non-judgmental awareness and autonomous response to their needs, they may also have greater grit27. Duckworth et al.28 defined grit as people’s consistency of interests and perseverance of effort, i.e., the passion and tenacity in pursuing certain goals. Supporting the mindfulness-to-meaning theory [× 20] and self-determination t heory27, recent studies suggested that mindfulness is associated with g rit29–31. For instance, mindfulness facets including acting with awareness and non-judging were found to predict grit longitudinally31. In another study, mindfulness was associ (...truncated)