The chain mediating role of resilience and stress perception between mindfulness and PTSD among college students after campus violence.

Higher levels of mindfulness among college students after a campus violent event are associated with lower post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, and this relationship works partly through two linked factors: greater psychological resilience and lower perceived stress. Mindfulness positively correlates with resilience and negatively correlates with both stress perception and PTSD. Resilience and stress perception each independently mediate the mindfulness–PTSD link, and they also act in sequence: resilience predicts lower stress perception, which in turn relates to lower PTSD. The findings suggest that mindfulness may buffer trauma responses by strengthening resilience and reducing how stressful students perceive events to be.

Study at a glance

Abstract

Despite extensive research on mindfulness, there is a dearth of studies exploring its impact on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) through the intermediaries of psychological resilience and perceived stress. In response to a violent campus event, this article investigates the association between mindfulness levels among college students and the presence of PTSD using a sequential mediation model. We recruited 324 participants from a university following a violent event and collected 314 valid data. All the participants signed the informed consent and completed self-report measures of mindfulness (MASS), stress perception (PSS), resilience (CD-RISC) and PTSD (PCL-5). The SPSS PROCESS model 6 was utilized to investigate the chain mediation model. (1) There exists a notable positive correlation between mindfulness and resilience (r = 0.45, p < 0.01), while a significant negative correlation is observed between mindfulness and stress perception (r = -.55, p < 0.01), as well as PTSD (r = -.51, p < 0.01). (2) Resilience (effect = -0.1109) and stress perception (effect = -0.1359) play a mediating role between mindfulness and PTSD, respectively. (3) Stress perception is predicted by resilience (β = -0.62, t = -15.96, p < 0.001). (4) Stress perception and resilience play a chain mediating role between mindfulness and PTSD (effect = -0.1301). In the aftermath of the campus violence incident, PTSD experienced by college students can be affected by mindfulness through a chain mediating effect of stress perception and resilience.