The Mindfulness Manifold: Exploring How Self-Preoccupation, Self-Compassion, and Self-Transcendence Translate Mindfulness Into Positive Psychological Outcomes

In a correlational study (n = 670) using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis as well as path analysis, evidence for a mindfulness manifold reaching from self-awareness all the way to psychological outcomes was uncovered. Factor analysis of a large number of mindfulness and mindfulness-related scales yielded five interrelated, interpretable factors, subsumed under three aspects of mindfulness derived from a common-denominator model (Vigo & Silbersweig’s S-ART model): (a) self-awareness, with the two factors of reflective awareness and controlled sense-of-self in the moment; (b) self-regulation, with the two factors of self-preoccupation and self-compassion; and (c) self-transcendence. In a mediational structural-equation model testing the hypothesis of a flow of influence from self-awareness over self-regulation to self-transcendence, self-awareness was indeed found to influence self-regulation; self-regulation mediated part of the effects of self-awareness on self-transcendence. In turn, self-preoccupation, self-compassion, and self-transcendence, as well as controlled sense-of-self in the moment, alleviated negative emotional states (stress, depression, and anxiety) and had a positive influence on psychological well-being. The results elucidate that self-regulation and self-transcendence are (some of) the mechanisms through which the effects of self-awareness are translated into beneficial psychological outcomes.