An examination of the relationships among mindfulness, emotional acceptance, emotional awareness, self-compassion, forgiveness, and self-judgment

Although the positive effects of mindfulness interventions are promising, the changes in psychological processes leading to these positive outcomes are not yet understood. This study examined the relationship between one potential mediator, emotional acceptance, and mindfulness. The study also investigated three processes that may serve to facilitate the development of emotional acceptance: self-compassion, forgiveness, and self judgment. One hundred and forty-two participants belonging to a mindfulness meditation community completed a packet of questionnaires measuring the constructs of interest. The results from this study suggest that mindfulness, operationalized as the amount of mindfulness meditation practice experience, is associated with emotional acceptance, self-compassion, and low levels of self-judgment. Mindfulness was not found to be associated with forgiveness and emotional awareness. When compared to participants with lower levels of mindfulness experience, those who had practiced mindfulness for five or more years exhibited the highest levels of self-compassion and emotional acceptance, and the lowest levels of self-judgment. Individuals with lower levels of experience did not significantly differ from each other on these three variables. Self-compassion, forgiveness, and self judgment were not found to moderate the relationship between emotional awareness and emotional acceptance. Levels of self-compassion, self-judgment, and forgiveness were found to partially mediate the relationship between mindfulness experience and emotional acceptance. Future studies should address causal relationships between these variables (emotional acceptance, self-compassion, self judgment, forgiveness, and emotional awareness) and mindfulness and examine whether these variables partially mediate the relationship between mindfulness practice and positive clinical outcomes.