Relationship between University Students’ Mindfulness and Prosocial Behavior: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation

The purpose of this study was to investigate the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between mindfulness and prosocial behavior. The research method was correlational and the statistical population of the study was all undergraduate female students of Shiraz University in the academic year 2018-2019. Participants were 237 students selected by multi-stage random cluster sampling and completed the research instruments consisted of multidimensional scale of prosocial behavior, adolescent and adult mindfulness scale and cognitive emotion regulation questionnaire. Data were analyzed by structural equation modeling method. The findings showed that mindfulness was a positive and significant predicator of prosocial behavior, adaptive and non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies. Also, adaptive strategies of cognitive emotion regulation played a mediator role in the relationship between mindfulness and prosocial behavior. But non-adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies could not play a mediator role in relation of mindfulness to prosocial behavior. Based on this research results, it can be concluded that more students’ mindfulness results in more use of their adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and thus enhances their prosocial behavior.