The indirect effect of positive affect in the relationship between trait mindfulness and emotion dysregulation

Mindfulness is correlated with better emotion regulation and mindfulness training improves emotion regulation; however, mechanisms of these effects have not been widely studied. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to examine the indirect effect of greater mindfulness on fewer emotion regulation difficulties through positive affect. Participants were 219 undergraduate students (M =19.20; 70.5% female; 91.5% Caucasian) who completed self-report measures for course credit. Results indicated a significant direct effect of mindfulness on emotion dysregulation (b = -1.71, t = -6.94, p < .001) and significant indirect effect of greater mindfulness on fewer emotion regulation problems through higher levels of positive affect (indirect effect =-0.50; SE = 0.13; 95% CI = -0.80 to -0.28). These results help to generate testable hypotheses for future mechanistic research in this area by suggesting that one way trait mindfulness may protect against emotion dysregulation could be by cultivating positive affect. Future research using longitudinal designs is needed to explore positive affect as a causal mechanism.