Mindfulness and Mental Health Among Mainland Chinese University Students in Hong Kong: The Mediating Role of Self-Stigma

Objectives Recent research has highlighted the educational and mental health benefits of mindfulness. However, studies on the relation between mindfulness and stigma among ethnic and cultural minorities remain relatively scarce. Based on mindfulness-to-meaning theory, the present longitudinal study investigated the mediating role of self-stigma between mindfulness and mental health outcomes among Mainland Chinese university students residing in Hong Kong. Methods A sample of 194 university students (mean age = 21.08 years, SD  = 2.01) were recruited to complete a questionnaire for three times, with an approximately three-month lag between time points. Results Path analysis revealed that mindfulness was associated with lower self-stigma and fewer depressive symptoms. Self-stigma was, in turn, associated with poorer mental health, as indexed by emotional, psychological, and social well-being, but not with depressive symptoms. Self-stigma further mediated the association between mindfulness and mental health, after controlling for baseline autoregressive effects, age, gender, income, and education level. Conclusions The present findings inform researchers of the potential significance of nurturing mindfulness for combating self-stigma and enhancing mental health among minority students. The initial findings may also serve to inform applied interventions for enhancing mental health among minority students. Preregistration This study is not preregistered.