Gray’s Behavioural Inhibition System as a mediator of mindfulness towards well-being

The objective of the study was to test whether Gray’s “Behavioural Inhibition System” (BIS) is a pathway from mindfulness towards well-being in a cross-sectional and correlational design, using online data collection. We administered the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI) and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS) to a non-clinical sample of German adults (n = 211). BIS was measured using the Action Regulation Emotion System Questionnaire (ARES), and well-being was measured using a compound variable consisting of the Marburg Habitual Well-being Scale (MHW) along with two subscales of the Questionnaire of General Habitual Well-Being (FAHW). We analysed two mediator models with the FMI or KIMS as independent variables, respectively. In both models, BIS was modelled as a mediator, and well-being served as the dependent variable. The total effect of mindfulness on well-being was found to be strong for both models. Also, the effect of mindfulness on the proposed mediator BIS was substantial, as was the effect of BIS on well-being. The study demonstrates that BIS can partially explain the pathway between mindfulness and well-being, suggesting that BIS may be a mediator of the effects of mindfulness.