A Decade Apart: Reciprocal Links Between Spiritual Mindfulness, Sense of Control, and Well-Being in Middle and Older...

Evidence suggests that spiritual mindfulness, sense of control, and psychological well-being are associated. However, less research has examined these connections over long time periods in middle-aged and older adults, who generally experience less control in their lives. The present study investigated the long-term reciprocal links between a spiritual form of mindfulness, sense of control, and psychological well-being in middle-aged and older adults, across a decade. Middle-aged and older adult (N = 2878; M_age = 54.94 years; 55.3% female) data from the Midlife in the US (MIDUS) study were collected across two time points spanning a decade (M_interval = 9.09 years). A cross-lagged panel model with spiritual mindfulness, sense of control, and psychological well-being was estimated using full information maximum likelihood estimation to investigate cross-time and reciprocal associations. Reciprocal associations were found between spiritual mindfulness and sense of control and between sense of control and psychological well-being. There was no reciprocal association between spiritual mindfulness and psychological well-being; spiritual mindfulness at the earlier time point was associated with psychological well-being a decade later, but the reverse path was not significant. The study's findings suggest permanence in these spiritual mindfulness associations over long period of time. The results also suggest that sense of control may be important when we consider spiritual mindfulness and well-being in middle-aged and older adults.