The role of mindfulness and spirituality in facilitating acceptance and striving towards goals.

摘要

Mindfulness and spirituality are both constructs with research support for a wide array of positive health outcomes, from increased rate of survival from disease to decreased rate of relapse from mental illness. They also have potential utility in medical, educational, and social services sectors. Although the constructs have been related theoretically, there has been little empirical evidence to support this notion, in part due to the conflation of spirituality and religiosity, and the heterogeneity of measures available. This dissertation aimed to contribute to the growing literature investigating the intersection of mindfulness and spirituality while carefully taking into account the construct validity of spirituality measures used. In addition, the dissertation looked at how mindfulness and spirituality relate to measures of wellbeing that are clinically relevant---acceptance and striving toward goals. Participants were 433 undergraduate students who completed an online survey composed of measures of spirituality, mindfulness, acceptance, and striving. The results supported the hypothesis that spirituality and mindfulness are independent but significantly related constructs. In addition, the results suggested that spirituality's effect on acceptance may be mediated by mindfulness, and that spirituality, mindfulness, and acceptance all have direct effects on striving to change. This study has both research and clinical implications, and continued dialogue between the fields of spirituality and mindfulness is encouraged. Limitations and future directions for research are explored.