Relation between Mindfulness and Psychological Distress among the Young Adults of the Bangladeshi Population: The Moderating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation

Identifying psychological distress has been difficult in the Bangladeshi population considering mental health stigma. Emotion regulation and mindfulness can improve one’s psychological functioning, and prevent poor mental health and psychopathology. It is vital to establish findings about emotion regulation and mindfulness as both can enhance long-term well-being and detect psychological distress. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to investigate the moderating role of emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between psychological distress and mindfulness among the Bangladeshi young adults. It further aimed to understand how individuals’ adaptive and maladaptive strategies may contribute to psychological distress and mindfulness. The Bangla versions of three questionnaires, namely the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), and the Kessler Psychological Distress (K۶) Scale, were used and packaged into a Google form. It was administered online to a sample of ۲۱۰ (۶۳ males and ۱۴۷ females) Bangladeshi young adults ages from ۱۸ through ۲۵ years. The data were collected from May ۲۰۲۲ to July ۲۰۲۲. Pearson product-moment correlation showed a significant relationship between psychological distress and mindfulness. Furthermore, analyses also revealed a negative association of mindfulness with maladaptive CER strategies and a positive association with adaptive CER strategies. Hierarchal regression analysis expressed how maladaptive and adaptive CER strategies moderated the relationship between the two key variables. The patterns were analyzed using Mod graph, and the findings were interpreted in light of past studies.

Keywords:

Psychological Distress , Mindfulness , Cognitive Emotion Regulation (CER) , Maladaptive Strategies , Adaptive Strategies