Cultivating Academic Excellence: Unveiling the Impact of Mindfulness Through Psychological Capital Among Nursing Students

Abstract

In nursing practice, sound academic performance, critical thinking, and clinical reasoning are crucial to achieving academic excellence and clinical success. Mindfulness and psychological capital present promising approaches to addressing challenges encountered in nursing education and practice. The aim of this study was to investigate the empirical and conceptual associations between mindfulness, psychological capital, and academic achievement and the mediating effects of psychological capital on the relationship between mindfulness and academic achievement. A cross-sectional quantitative study was conducted from April to September 2024 among 406 undergraduate nursing students in Saudi Arabia using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the 12-item Psychological Capital Questionnaire, and grade point average (GPA) as a measure of academic achievement. Covariance-based structural equation modelling analysis revealed that only the acting with awareness and nonjudging facets had direct positive relationships with academic achievement. Psychological capital was positively related to academic achievement and mediated the relationship of mindfulness facets (observing, describing, acting with awareness, and nonreactivity) with academic achievement. Thus, this study provides evidence of the positive interrelationships between specific mindfulness facets, psychological capital, and academic achievement. Its results contribute to both theory and practice by adding to the existing myriad determinants of academic achievement. The findings also guide students, teachers, and practitioners in the field of nursing in adopting interventions for enhancing both mindfulness and psychological capital to cultivate sustainable academic excellence in nursing education.