Trait mindfulness: a potential health asset?

Abstract

Aim: With the incidence of preventable chronic diseases on the rise, it is vital to understand factors that support ageing well. Trait mindfulness is a positive psychological resource that may offer potential as a health asset. This study aimed to understand whether community-level evidence supports this claim. Subject and methods: In this cross-sectional study, data were collected from older Australians (n = 838) via self-report in online surveys (mean 65 years). Hypotheses were tested using regression models. We tested the relationship of trait mindfulness with health risk behaviours, disease diagnoses, mental health and health-related quality of life (HR-QoL) then investigated its potential for moderating the effects of health decline on HR-QoL. Results: Trait mindfulness was negatively associated with the reported number of diseases, the number of health risk behaviours and depression symptoms; and was positively associated with HR-QoL (all p