Self-disclosure, mindfulness, and their relationships with happiness and well-being

Abstract

Background: This study aims to test how self-disclosure relates to mindfulness, whether self-disclosure or mindfulness best predicts happiness and well-being, and whether there are significant differences between happiness and well-being levels due to self-disclosure and mindfulness. Data from a public sample was collected using e-mails and social media platforms (N = 486). Results: The findings demonstrated a weak relationship between mindfulness and self-disclosure (r = 0.16) and acting with awareness but a strong relationship between happiness, wellness, mindfulness, and its factors. The results revealed four values that predict the differentiation between happy and unhappy people, and these values are statistically significant, namely, mindfulness, description, acceptance without judgment, and self-disclosure, as well as four values that predict the distinction between being well and unwell, namely mindfulness, observation, description, and self-disclosure. Additionally, results showed significant differences in the means of each of the mindfulness predictor variables in favor of happiness, wellness, and females. For the self-disclosure variable, the results showed differences in its means favoring females, happiness, and wellness. Finally, when controlling for gender and age, regression analyses found mindfulness to be an important predictor for happiness and well-being at 59% and 48% of the variance, respectively, while self-disclosure was a weak predictor at 12% and 15%, respectively. Conclusions: In general, the results indicate that mindfulness is more effective and beneficial for living a happy and healthy life than self-disclosure