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Exploring the relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological adaptation from a network perspective: is there any difference between pilots and other non-pilot civil aviation employees?

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Abstract

To explore the role of trait mindfulness in the psychological adaptation of civil aviation personnel, and compare the importance of this role between airline pilots and other civil aviation practitioners. A total of 198 civil aviation pilots and 804 other civil aviation practitioners were recruited to complete surveys on mindfulness, SCL-90, job burnout, core self-evaluation, and psychological resilience. The network relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological adaptation was constructed. The results showed that trait mindfulness played an important role in the psychological adaptation network of civil aviation employees. Specifically, trait mindfulness was negatively correlated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms and emotional exhaustion, and positively correlated with core self-evaluation. However, no significant difference was found in trait mindfulness and psychological adaptation network between pilots and non-pilots. These findings show that mindfulness has a unique positive effect on the psychological adaptation of civil aviation personnel. Specifically, the mindfulness trait may alleviate compulsive symptoms or reduce emotional exhaustion, enabling airline personnel to maintain a good self-evaluation. At the same time, the role of mindfulness traits in the network is similar, indicating that the positive role of mindfulness intervention in civil aviation may be universal.

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Funding

This study was funded by the fundamental Research Funds of CASTC (XXX252060302102).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. China Academy of Civil Aviation Science and Technology, Beijing, People’s Republic of China

    Chunyang Zhang, Yuan Zhang & Yanqiu Chen

  2. Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, No.19 Xinjiekouwai Road, Haidian District, Beijing, 100875, People’s Republic of China

    Jingyuan Huang & Wei Xu

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  1. Chunyang Zhang
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Correspondence to Wei Xu.

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Zhang, C., Huang, J., Zhang, Y. et al. Exploring the relationship between trait mindfulness and psychological adaptation from a network perspective: is there any difference between pilots and other non-pilot civil aviation employees?. Curr Psychol 43, 16237–16246 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-023-05564-3

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