Mindfulness and academic alienation among university students: the mediating roles of cognitive fusion and psychological resilience

Introduction: Academic alienation has become an increasingly salient issue among university students, as it is closely related to students' engagement with learning and their psychological adjustment in academic contexts. Mindfulness has been widely discussed as a psychological characteristic associated with individuals' awareness and regulation of internal experiences, yet the processes linking mindfulness to academic alienation remain insufficiently examined. In particular, limited attention has been given to the potential roles of cognitive fusion and psychological resilience in shaping students' academic experiences. Methods: A paper-based survey was administered to 569 undergraduate students from three universities in Hunan Province, China. Measures included mindfulness, cognitive fusion, psychological resilience, and academic alienation. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted using IBM SPSS AMOS 26, with confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) evaluating the measurement model. Indirect effects were tested via bootstrapping. Results: Mindfulness showed a negative association with cognitive fusion and a positive association with psychological resilience. Cognitive fusion was positively associated with academic alienation and negatively associated with psychological resilience, whereas psychological resilience was negatively associated with academic alienation. Further analyses indicated that cognitive fusion and psychological resilience mediated the association between mindfulness and academic alienation. Conclusion: The findings offer insight into the psychological processes associated with university students' experiences in academic settings. By highlighting the relevance of cognitive and resilience-related factors in relation to academic alienation, the results help clarify how students' internal psychological functioning may be linked to their engagement with learning. These observations may inform future research examining students' academic adjustment and well-being.