Self-esteem mediates the relationship between mindfulness and well-being

The relationship between mindfulness and well-being has received considerable importance in positive psychological research. The aim of the present study was to examine whether self-esteem mediates the relationship between mindfulness and well-being. A sample of 318 Indian undergraduate university students in the age range of 18-23 years completed self-report measures of mindfulness, self-esteem, affect and mental well-being. Correlation results indicated that mindfulness was associated with self-esteem, affect, and mental well-being and self-esteem was associated with affect and mental well-being. Analysis using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that self-esteem fully mediated the relationship between mindfulness and positive affect and mental well-being. Furthermore, self esteem partially mediated the relationship between mindfulness and negative affect. Moreover, a multi-group analysis showed that the mediational model was not moderated by gender. The limitations and implications of the results are discussed.