The relationship between mindfulness and depression: examining the chain mediating role of shyness and core self-evaluation.

Summary

Higher levels of mindfulness are linked to reduced depressive symptoms, particularly in shy individuals. In a study involving 646 college students, it was found that mindfulness significantly influenced depression through two key pathways: shyness and core self-evaluation. A follow-up with 269 students exhibiting higher shyness confirmed these findings. Specifically, those practicing mindfulness showed improved self-evaluation and lower shyness, suggesting that mindfulness techniques could be effective interventions for alleviating depression among college students, especially those struggling with shyness.

Abstract

There is evidence to suggest that individuals with the personality trait of shyness are more prone to depression, and a possible key factor in the process of shyness leading to depression is core self-evaluation. Given the prevalence and cross-cultural nature of shyness in humans, it is crucial to understand the factors that reduce shyness, enhance core self-evaluation, and ultimately lower depression. This study aims to examine whether mindfulness affects depression through sequential pathways involving shyness and core self-evaluation. We adopted a two-phase sampling method, recruiting an initial sample of 646 college students (Sample 1). We conducted a questionnaire survey using the Chinese version of the Five Factor Mindfulness Scale, the revised Cheek and Buss Shyness Scale, the Core Self-Evaluation Scale, and the Chinese version of the Beck Depression Inventory-II. We constructed a chain mediation model to examine the relationship between mindfulness and depressive symptoms, with shyness and core self-evaluation as mediating variables. Subsequently, based on Sample 1, we purposively selected a subsample of 269 college students with higher shyness scores (Sample 2) and re-examined the chain mediation effect. Higher levels of mindfulness were associated with lower levels of depressive symptoms, and this relation was mediated through shyness and core self-evaluation. These results highlight that mindfulness can influence depression through the sequential pathway of shyness and core self-evaluation, and the importance of considering mindfulness practices in psychological interventions to help college students, especially shy college students, to reduce their shyness levels, improve core self-evaluation levels, and ultimately prevent and/or treat their depressive symptoms.

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