The mediating role of authenticity on mindfulness and wellbeing: a cross cultural analysis

Both mindfulness and authenticity have been found to positively affect psychological well-being. The current study investigated the relationships between an interesting mix of eastern and western phenomena including mindfulness, authenticity and psychological well-being and considered the cultural diversities in measures of these variables. Participants (N = 165) completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, Authenticity Scale, and the Psychological Well-Being Scale. Findings demonstrated that authenticity acts as a partial mediator for the relationship between mindfulness and psychological well-being. Authenticity remained a partial mediator in the White British sample but acted as a complete mediator of the relationship between mindfulness and well-being in the Chinese sample. We make several suggestions for therapeutic approaches that focus on authenticity and support a previous claim that person-centred psychotherapy can be considered a form of mindful therapy.