Associations between psychological distress and facets of mindfulness: Implications for campus-based university wellness services

Objectives To investigate associations between components of psychological distress and five facets of mindfulness (i.e. observing; describing; acting with awareness; non-reactivity; non-judging).Participants Students from a university in South Africa (n = 174).Methods This cross-sectional study assessed psychological distress and mindfulness using the K10 and Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire. Multivariate regression analysis identified associations between psychological distress and facets of mindfulness, controlling for demographics.Results Prevalence of psychological distress was 56.9% (95% CI 49.2%–64.4%). Acting with awareness, non-reactivity, and non-judging predicted significantly lower psychological distress, whereas observing and describing did not. Acting with awareness was the only facet of mindfulness that consistently predicted lower levels of negative affect, fatigue, nervousness, and agitation.Conclusions Acting with awareness appears to be a key component of psychological wellbeing. To advance theory and practice, future research should consider why and how various facets of mindfulness predict lower psychological distress and its components among university students.