Mindfulness as a Moderator of the Relationship Between Engaged Living and Depression in Emerging Adulthood

In this cross-sectional study with a sample of racially diverse emerging adults, we examined whether mindfulness moderated the association between engaged living and a range of psychological distress variables (i.e., depression, anxiety, stress).

The study sample comprised 1020 university students, aged 18–25 (M = 19.5, SD = 1.6), recruited from a public university in Hawaiʻi. Engaged living, mindfulness, and psychological distress were measured by the Engaged Living Scale (ELS), Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ), and short‐form version of the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21), respectively. Hierarchical regression analyses were conducted to examine the conditional effect of engaged living on psychological distress variables at varying levels of mindfulness.

We found a significant two-way interaction effect between engaged living and mindfulness on depression, but not on anxiety or stress. Specifically, the inverse relationship between engaged living and depression was attenuated in 3 with high levels of mindfulness.

These results suggest that clarity of values and life fulfillment, processes that are captured by the construct of engaged living, are relevant to depression, particularly when mindfulness is low, and that both mindfulness and engaged living serve as unique salutary pathways in the context of experiencing anxiety and stress.