Mindfulness and Psychological Adjustment in International Students: The Mediating Role of Emotion Regulation Strategies

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between mindfulness and psychological adjustment among international students, focusing on the mediating roles of two emotion regulation strategies: cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression. Specifically, it explored whether mindfulness is associated with lower acculturative stress and higher coping self-efficacy, and whether using the emotion regulation strategies of cognitive appraisal and expressive suppression mediate these relationships. Eighty-nine international students from mid-sized U.S. universities participated in an online survey assessing mindfulness, emotion regulation, acculturative stress, and coping self-efficacy. Mediation analyses using bootstrapping showed that cognitive reappraisal partially mediated the relationship between mindfulness and coping self-efficacy, but not between mindfulness and acculturative stress. Expressive suppression did not emerge as a significant mediator. These findings suggest that mindfulness may enhance the psychological resilience of international students by promoting adaptive emotion regulation, particularly through cognitive reappraisal. However, the complex nature of acculturative stress may require additional research into broader or alternative mechanisms beyond reappraisal. Implications for culturally sensitive mindfulness-based interventions are discussed.

Date of Award	2025
Original language	American English
Awarding Institution	Eastern Illinois University
Supervisor	Ronan Bernas (Supervisor)