Abstract
University students have to face many challenges including different social and educational settings, these changes can negatively affect their performance and develop symptoms of anxiety. Mindfulness and cognitive emotion regulation can be considered as key factors in getting awareness about one’s weakness and ability to improve it. Therefore, the present research aimed to explore the relationship between mindfulness and anxiety among students. Further, moderating role of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation(ER) strategy was investigated in the relationship between mindfulness and anxiety. A convenient sample of 210 students including both male (104) and female (106) age ranged between 18 to 26 years was drawn from various universities. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), Mood and Anxiety Symptom Questionnaire (MASQ), and Cognitive Emotional Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ) were used to measure the variables under study. Correlational analysis indicated a negative relationship of mindfulness with anxiety and adaptive CER strategy whereas anxiety has a positive relationship with maladaptive CER. Furthermore, interactive effect showed moderating role of adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies in relation with mindfulness and anxiety. Results revealed that maladaptive CER are considered as contributing factors as they lead to higher level of anxiety when combine with low level of mindfulness. Moreover, it was also suggestive fact that less use of adaptive CER strengthens the negative relationship between mindfulness and anxiety leading towards anxiety symptoms. Implications and suggestions have also been discussed.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aldao, A. (2012). Emotion regulation strategies as transdiagnostic processes: A closer look at the invariance of their form and function. Revista de Psicopatología y Psicología Clínica, 17(3), 261–278. https://doi.org/10.5944/rppc.vol.17.num.3.2012.11843.
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-5®). American Psychiatric Pub.
Baer, R. A. (2003). Mindfulness training as a clinical intervention: A conceptual and empirical review. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10(2), 125–143. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bpg015.
Bamber, M. D., & Kraenzle Schneider, J. (2016). Mindfulness-based meditation to decrease stress and anxiety in college students: A narrative synthesis of the research. Educational Research Review, 18, 132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.edurev.2015.12.004.
Beddoe, A. E., & Murphy, S. O. (2004). Does mindfulness decrease stress and foster empathy among nursing students? The Journal of nursing education, 43(7), 305–312.
Bishop, S. R., Lau, M., Shapiro, S., Carlson, L., Anderson, N. D., Carmody, J., & Devins, G. (2004). Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 230–241. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy/bph077.
Broderick, P. C., & Jennings, P. A. (2012). Mindfulness for adolescents: A promising approach to supporting emotion regulation and preventing risky behaviour. New Direction for Youth Development, 136, 111–126. https://doi.org/10.1002/yd.20042.
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822–848. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822.
Bullis, J. R., Bøe, H. J., Asnaani, A., & Hofmann, S. G. (2014). The benefits of being mindful: Trait mindfulness predicts less stress. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry, 45, 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jbtep.2013.07.006.
Campbell-Sills, L., & Barlow, D. H. (2007). Incorporating emotion regulation into conceptualizations and treatments of anxiety and mood disorders. In J. J. Gross (Ed.), Handbook of emotion regulation, 2 (pp. 542–559). Guilford Press.
Compare, A., Zarbo, C., Shonin, E., Gordon, W. V., & Marconi, C. (2014). Emotional regulation and depression: A potential mediator between heart and mind. Cardiovascular Psychiatry and Neurology, 2014, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/324374.
Desrosiers, A., Vine, M. S. V., Klemanski, D. H., & Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (2013). Mindfulness and emotion regulation in depression and anxiety: Common and distinct mechanisms of action. Depression and Anxiety, 30, 654–661. https://doi.org/10.1002/da.22124.
Diamond, L. M., & Aspinwall, L. G. (2003). Emotional regulation across the life span: An integrative perspective emphasizing self-regulation, positive affect, and dyadic processes. Motivation and Emotion, 27, 125–156. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024521920068.
Eisenberg, N., Smith, C. L., Sadovsky, A., & Spinrad, T. L. (2004). Effortful control: Relations with emotion regulation, adjustment, and socialization in childhood. In R. F. Baumeister & K. D. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 259–282). Guilford.
Freudenthaler, L., Turba, J. D., & Tran, U. S. (2017). Emotion regulation mediates the associations of mindfulness on symptoms of depression and anxiety in the general population. Mindfulness, 8, 1339–1344. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-017-0709-y.
Garland, E. L., Gaylord, S. A., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2011). Positive reappraisal mediates the stress-reductive effects of mindfulness: An upward spiral process. Mindfulness, 2(1), 59–67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-011-0043-8.
Garnefski, N., & Kraaij, V. (2006). Relationships between cognitive emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms: A comparative study of five specific samples. Personality and Individual Differences, 40(8), 1659–1669. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2005.12.009.
Garnefski, Kraaij, & Spinhoven, P. (2001). Negative life events, cognitive emotion regulation and emotional problems. Personality and Individual Differences, 30(8), 1311–1327. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00113-6.
Garnefski, N., Hossain, S., & Kraaij, V. (2017). Relationships between maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and psychopathology in adolescents from Bangladesh. Archives of Depression and Anxiety, 3(2), 23–29.
Germer, C., Siegel, R., & Fulton, P. (Eds.). (2005). Mindfulness and psychotherapy. Guilford Press.
Hayes, A. M., & Feldman, G. (2004). Clarifying the construct of mindfulness in the context of emotion regulation and the process of change in therapy. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 11(3), 255–262. https://doi.org/10.1093/clipsy.bph080.
Head, L. Q., & Lindsey, J. D. (1983). Anxiety and the university student: A breif review of the professional literature. College Student Journal, 17, 176–182. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2014.887571.
Hughes, B. M. (2005). Study, examinations, and stress: Blood pressure assessments in college students. Educational Review, 57(1), 21–36. https://doi.org/10.1080/0013191042000274169.
Hunt, J., & Eisenberg, D. (2010). Mental health problems and help-seeking behavior among college students. Journal of Adolescent Health, 46(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2009.08.008.
Ingram, R. E., & Luxton, D. D. (2005). Vulnerability-Stress Models. In B. L. Hankin & J. R. Z. Abela (Eds.), Development of psychopathology: A vulnerability-stress perspective (p. 32–46). Sage Publications, Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781452231655.n2.
Joormann, J., & Stöber, J. (1999). Somatic symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder for the DSM-IV: Associations with pathological worry and depression symptoms in a nonclinical sample. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 13(5), 491–503. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0887-6185(99)00017-1.
Kumar, S., Feldman, G., & Hayes, A. (2008). Changes in mindfulness and emotional regulation in an exposure-based cognitive therapy for depression. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 32, 734–744. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10608-008-9190-1.
Lazarus, R. S., & Folkman, S. (1984). Stress, appraisal, and coping. Springer Publishing Company.
Macaskill, A. (2012). The mental health of university students in the United Kingdom. British Journal of Guidance and Counselling, 41(4), 426–441. https://doi.org/10.1080/03069885.2012.743110.
Masuda, A., & Tully, E. C. (2012). The role of mindfulness and psychological flexibility in somatization, depression, anxiety, and general psychological distress in a nonclinical college sample. Journal of Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 17, 66–71. https://doi.org/10.1177/2156587211423400.
Min, J. A., Yu, J. J., Lee, C. U., & Chae, J. H. (2013). Cognitive emotion regulation strategies contributing to resilience in patients with depression and/or anxiety disorders. Comprehensive Psychiatry, 54, 1190–1197. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.comppsych.2013.05.008.
Monshat, K., Khong, B., Hassed, C., Vella-Brodrick, D., Norrish, J., Burns, J., & Herrman, H. (2013). A conscious control over life and my emotions:Mindfulness practice and healthy young people. A qualitative study. Journal of Adolescent Health, 52, 572–577. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.09.008.
Nanda, J. (2009). Mindfulness: A lived experience of existential-phenomenological themes. Existential Analysis, 20(1), 147–162.
Ochsner, K. N., & Gross, J. J. (2005). The cognitive control of emotion. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 9, 242–249. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2005.03.010.
Petrocchi, N., & Ottaviani, C. (2016). Mindfulness facets distinctively predict depressive symptoms after two years: The mediating role of rumination. Personality and Individual Differences, 93, 92–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.017.
Roemer, L., Lee, J. K., Salters-Pedneault, K., Erisman, S. M., Orsillo, S. M., & Mennin, D. S. (2009). Mindfulness and emotion regulation difficulties in generalized anxiety disorder: Preliminary evidence for independent and overlapping contributions. Behavior Therapy, 40(2), 142–154. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beth.2008.04.001.
Shapiro, S. L., Carlson, L. E., Astin, J. A., & Freedman, B. (2006). Mechanisms of mindfulness. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62(3), 373–386. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.20237.
Sharma, P., & Kirmani, M. N. (2015). Exploring depression & anxiety among college going students. Indian Journal of Scientific Research, 4, 528–532.
Snyder, R., Shapiro, S., & Treleavne, D. (2011). Attachment theory and mindfulness. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 21(5), 709–717. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-011-9522-8.
Thompson, E. (2001). Empathy and consciousness. In E. Thompson (Ed.), Between ourselves: Second-person issues in the study of consciousness.
Watson, D., Weber, K., Assenheimer, J. S., Clark, L. A., Strauss, M. E., & McCormick, R. A. (1995). Testing a tripartite model: I. Evaluating the convergent and discriminant validity of anxiety and depression symptom scales. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843X.104.1.3.
Weinstein, N., Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). A multi-method examination of the effects of mindfulness on stress attribution, coping, and emotional well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 374–385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2008.12.008.
Zinn, J. K. (1994). Wherever you go, there you are: Mindfulness meditation in everyday life. Hyperion, 78–80.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Declaration of Conflicting Interests
On behalf of all authors, the corresponding author states that there is no conflict of interest.
Informed Consent
Informed consent were obtained from all individual participants of the current study.
Ethical Approval
All procedures performed in the current research were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional research committee.
Data Policy
The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
Additional information
Publisher’s Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Malik, S., Perveen, A. Mindfulness and anxiety among university students: Moderating role of cognitive emotion regulation. Curr Psychol 42, 5621–5628 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01906-1
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-021-01906-1