Mindfulness mediates the relationship between mental health self-stigma and psychological distress: A cross-sectional study

The proposed cross-sectional survey of a non-clinical college sample investigated (1) whether two forms of mental health self-stigma (i.e., mental illness self-stigma and psychological distress self-stigma) were positively associated with psychological distress and (2) whether mindfulness mediated the association between mental health self-stigma and psychological distress. University students participated in an online survey. The results of the study revealed that both mental illness self-stigma and psychological distress self-stigma were positively associated with psychological distress, and that mindfulness partially mediated these associations. Additional analyses revealed that mindfulness moderated the association between psychological distress self-stigma and psychological distress. Mindfulness is an important variable for understanding mental health self-stigma and its association with psychological distress. Future studies should investigate the role of mindfulness in this association further.