The Effects of Mindfulness on Athlete Burnout, Subjective Well-being, and Flourishing Among Elite Athletes: A Test of Multiple Mediators

Chun-Qing Zhang*, Xin Li, Pak-Kwong Chung, Zhijian Huang, Danran Bu, Dandan Wang, Yang Guo, Xiang Wang, Gangyan Si

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

8 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Objectives: The current study aimed to examine the mediation effects of experiential acceptance, cognitive defusion, decentering, and nonattachment on the paths from mindfulness to athlete burnout, subjective well-being, and flourishing among elite athletes.

Methods: Chinese elite athletes (n = 515; 225 females) were recruited from three provincial sports centers representing 22 sports. The athletes completed self-reported measures of mindfulness, experiential acceptance, cognitive defusion, decentering, and nonattachment, athlete burnout, subjective well-being, and flourishing. Path analyses were conducted to test the mediation effects from mindfulness to athlete burnout, subjective well-being, and flourishing.

Results: Path analyses revealed that the effect from mindfulness to athlete burnout was mediated by experiential acceptance, cognitive defusion, and nonattachment, but not decentering. The effect from mindfulness to subjective well-being was mediated by decentering, cognitive defusion, and nonattachment, but not experiential acceptance. The effect from mindfulness to flourishing was mediated by decentering and nonattachment, but not experiential acceptance and cognitive defusion.

Conclusion: Findings from this study provided empirical support for the changing mechanisms regarding how mindfulness leads to adaptive and maladaptive outcomes, which can inform future mindfulness-based interventions for elite athletes.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1899–1908
Number of pages10
JournalMindfulness
Volume12
Issue number8
Early online date14 May 2021
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2021

User-Defined Keywords

  • Cognitive defusion
  • Decentering
  • Experiential acceptance
  • Nonattachment
  • Sport

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