The prospective association between mindfulness and flourishing in mid-to-late life

OBJECTIVES: Policymakers are increasingly interested in positive factors that enhance people's holistic well-being, and mindfulness is one such positive psychological factor. This study examined the prospective association between mindfulness and flourishing in mid-to-late life. METHOD: Three waves of data from the Midlife in the United States Study were used (1995-2014, N = 2,496, mean age = 56 years). Generalized estimating equation models were used to examine the association between mindfulness in wave II and flourishing 10 years later in wave III, adjusting for various potential confounders and prior levels of flourishing assessed in wave I. RESULTS: The highest vs. lowest quartile of mindfulness was positively associated with composite flourishing (ß = 0.26, 95% CI = 0.17, 0.36) and all three of its key domains, including: emotional (ß = 0.22, 95% CI = 0.11, 0.33), psychological (ß = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.13, 0.34), and social well-being (ß = 0.20, 95% CI = 0.09, 0.31). When further evaluating the subdomains nested within the three primary domains, we observed that mindfulness displayed especially strong associations with personal growth and social contribution, but little associations with purpose in life or social actualization, and potentially an inverse association with social coherence. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that cultivating mindfulness may be a meaningful avenue for promoting overall flourishing in middle-aged and older adults.