The study examined the relationship between mindfulness and academic satisfaction in college students. 199 students completed the Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire and Academic Satisfaction Scale. Results showed that students who reported higher mindfulness, such as being more observant and aware, also tended to report higher academic satisfaction. Specifically, students who were better at describing their feelings and aware of their actions reported greater academic satisfaction. The findings suggest that mindfulness is positively associated with academic satisfaction in college students.

1. Mindfulness and Academic Satisfaction in College Students
Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire
Please rate each of the following statements using the scale provided. Write the number in the
blank that best describes your own opinion of what is generally true for you.
1 2 3 4 5
never or rarely true rarely true sometimes true often true very often or always true
_____1. When I’m walking, I deliberately notice the sensations of my body moving.
_____2. I’m good at finding words to describe my feelings.
_____3. I criticize myself for having irrational or inappropriate emotions.
_____4. I perceive my feelings and emotions without having to react to them.
_____5. When I do things, my mind wanders off and I’m easily distracted.
_____6. When I take a shower or bath, I stay alert to the sensations of water on my body.
_____7. I can easily put my beliefs, opinions, and expectations into words.
_____8. I don’t pay attention to what I’m doing because I’m daydreaming, worrying, or
otherwise distracted.
_____9. I watch my feelings without getting lost in them.
_____10. I tell myself I shouldn’t be feeling the way I’m feeling.
_____11. I notice how foods and drinks affect my thoughts, bodily sensations, and emotions.
_____12. It’s hard for me to find the words to describe what I’m thinking.
Results
Mikaela Niemasz-Cavanagh & Helen Z. MacDonald, Ph.D.
Emmanuel College
BACKGROUND
• Mindfulness is a state of consciousness brought on by emotional
and physical awareness of both internal and external stimuli
(Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006)
• Mindfulness and meditative practices promote psychological well
-being (Brown & Ryan, 2003)
• Mindfulness produces more adaptive stress responses in college
students while promoting well-being (Weinstein, Brown, & Ryan,
2009)
• Academic self-efficacy has been linked to well-being in college
students (Ojeda, Flores, & Navarro, 2011)
• Meditation and mindfulness are linked to cognitive flexibility,
mental balance, and well-being (Moore & Malinowski, 2009)
• The following five facets of mindfulness, derived from The Five
Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire, are associated with
mindfulness found in those who practice yoga and meditation:
1) Non-reactivity to inner experience
2) Observing/noticing/attending to sensations/perceptions
/thoughts/feelings
3) Acting with awareness/automatic pilot/concentration/non
-distraction
4) Describing/labeling with words
5) Non-judging of experience
(Baer, Smith, Hopkins, Krietemeyer, & Toney, 2006)
• While the focus of past research has demonstrated links between
mindfulness and stress management, as well as well-being and
academic satisfaction, the link between academic satisfaction and
mindfulness has yet to be examined. For this reason, this study
hopes to investigate this association.
Introduction
PARTICIPANTS
• 199 Emmanuel College students participated in the study.
• The average age of the participants was 19.26 (SD= 1.27)
MATERIALS
• Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ); Baer et al.,
2006)
• Students were asked to answer 7 questions rating answers on
a scale ranging from 1 (never or very rarely true) to 5 (very
often or always true); (see figure 1)
• Academic Satisfaction Scale (Lent et al., 2005)
• Students were asked to answer 39 questions rating answers
on a scale ranging from 1 (never or very rarely true) to 5
(very often or always true); (see figure 2)
PROCEDURE
• Emmanuel College students over the age of 18 were recruited
via on-campus fliers
• The self-report survey was administered online to students who
read and consented to participation
• Students received 1 research participation point for their
participation in the study
• The study was approved by the Emmanuel College Institutional
Review Board
RESEARCH DESIGN
• Within-subjects design
• Correlational
MEASURES
• Academic Satisfaction
1. Academic Satisfaction Summary Score
• Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire
1. Ability to Describe Feelings subscale
2. Acting with Awareness subscale
3. Non-Judging of Self subscale
4. Non-Reactivity subscale
5. Observation subscale
6. Summary Score
DATAANALYSIS
• We examined the data for normality and outliers. We
transformed the moderately skewed Academic Satisfaction
Summary score using a square root transformation.
Statistical test run: One-tailed correlational analysis using SPSS
Method
Hypotheses
Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006).
Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness.
Assessment, 13(1), 27-45.
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present:
mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of
personality and social psychology, 84(4), 822.
Lent, R. W., Brown, S. D., Sheu, L. B., Gloster, C. S., Wilkins, G., Schmidt, L.
C., Lyons, H., & Treistman, D. (2005). Social cognitive predictors of
academic interests and goals in engineering: Utility for women
and students at historically black universities. Journal of Counseling
Psychology, 52, 84-92. doi:10.1037/0022-0167.52.1.84
Moore, A., & Malinowski, P. (2009). Meditation, mindfulness and cognitive
flexibility. Consciousness and cognition, 18(1), 176-186.
Ojeda, L., Flores, L. Y., & Navarro, R. L. (2011). Social cognitive predictors of
Mexican American college students' academic and life satisfaction.
Journal of Counseling Psychology, 58(1), 61.
Weinstein, N., Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2009). A multi-method
examination of the effects of mindfulness on stress attribution, coping,
and emotional well-being. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(3),
374-385.
Discussion
Correlations between Academic Satisfaction and Mindfulness
• As predicted, our findings suggest that students who are
more mindful overall also tend to be more academically
satisfied.
• Specifically, students who reported higher academic
satisfaction also tended to report higher levels of physical
and mental observation, ability to describe his or her
feelings, and awareness of actions subscales
• It is possible that students who are better at sensing their
feelings and then communicating them are also better at
describing their academic satisfaction.
• Additionally, it is possible that students who are more
academically satisfied have learned through academics
how to better understand and communicate how they are
feeling and what they are thinking.
References
Note. FFMQ = Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire.
*p< .05; **p< .01
Academic satisfaction will be higher in students who report higher
levels of mindfulness, as well as non-reactivity to inner
experience, observation of sensations, acting with awareness,
ability to describe feelings, and non-judging of self.
• The results demonstrate that the more mindful Emmanuel
College students tend to be, the more academically
satisfied they are. Specifically, the more observing and
aware the students, the more they tend to be academically
satisfied. Additionally, the better students at Emmanuel
College are at describing and labeling their feelings the
more academically satisfied they tend to be.
FUTURE RESEARCH
• It would be interesting to examine the direction of
association between mindfulness and academic
satisfaction. Specifically, further research might involve
testing whether mindfulness leads to academic satisfaction
or vice versa.
Conclusion
Figure 2: The seven questions on the Academic Satisfaction Scale rated 1-5
Figure 1: Preview of some of the questions on the FFMQ rated from 1-5
Academic Satisfaction Scale
Please rate each statement on the scale provided below.
Strongly Agree Agree Undecided Disagree Strongly Disagree
1 2 3 4 5
1. I feel satisfied with the decision to major in my intended field.
2. I am comfortable with the educational atmosphere in my major field.
3. For the most part, I am enjoying my coursework.
4. I am generally satisfied with my academic life.
5. I enjoy the level of intellectual stimulation in my courses.
6. I feel enthusiastic about the subject matter in my intended major.
7. I like how much I have been learning in my classes.
Academic Satisfaction Scale from Survey
Five Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire from Survey
For questions regarding this poster please contact: Mikaela Niemasz-Cavanagh
Email: mniemcav@gmail.com