Generalized anxiety (GA) is defined as a hindering overabundance of anxiety and worry that is disproportionate to that of the actual expected event (Iani et al., 2019). Mindfulness (MI) is defined as “a state of intentional present-moment awareness in a non-judgmental manner” (Ong & Moore, 2020, p. 18). Quality of life (QoL) entails an “individual's perception of their position in life in the context of the culture and value systems . . . in relation to their goals . . . affected in a complex way by the individual's physical health, psychological state, level of independence, social relationships, and [environment]” (Vahedi, 2010, p. 140).
Prior research has found MI to positively influence aspects of QoL, and GA appears to negatively influence QoL in terms of overall peace of mind and physical wellbeing. However, the role of GA in potentially negating the desirable effects of MI on QoL remains unclear. We hypothesize that there is a positive relation between MI and QoL, and that GA will mediate (account for) said relationship.
A final sample of 887 participants (Amazon MTurk Workers) (66.1% White or Caucasian; 61% women; age (M = 37.34, SD = 12.71, range = 18 to 78 years) completed a survey using the Qualtrics online survey platform. Average scores were 35.10 (SD = 5.96) (MI), 14.98 (SD = 6.92) (GA), 54.67 (SD = 7.79) (QoL-Physical), 49.02 (SD = 6.17) (QoL-Mental Health), and 103.68 (SD = 12.15) (QoL-Combined).
I utilized multiple regression to conduct mediational analysis of the hypothesized associations. Results will guide future research and may suggest that contextual evidence and aspects of anxiety should be investigated further to narrow the extent to which GA mediates this relationship alongside the presence of other potential mediating variables. This presentation was used at the Virtual Spring 2021 SUSRC at Salisbury University.