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.
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Data Availability
Upon reasonable request, the data that support the findings of the current study are available from the corresponding author Chun-Qing Zhang, Ph.D. at zhangchq28@mail.sysu.edu.cn.
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to thank Professor Julien S. Baker for his help on editing and proofreading the manuscript.
Funding
This research was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC; No. 31800948).
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CQZ designed the study, performed the data analysis, and wrote the paper. XL contributed to the data collection. PKC designed the study. ZH contributed to the data collection. DB contributed to the data collection. DW contributed to the data collection and data input. YG contributed to the data collection and data input. XW contributed to the data collection and data input. GS designed the study and edited the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript for submission.
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Zhang, CQ., Li, X., Chung, PK. et al. The Effects of Mindfulness on Athlete Burnout, Subjective Well-being, and Flourishing Among Elite Athletes: A Test of Multiple Mediators. Mindfulness 12, 1899–1908 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01644-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-021-01644-2