Mindfulness exercise is associated with mental health in older adults, potentially through the sequential mediation of coping self-efficacy and emotion regulation, though cross-sectional design limits causal inference.
Mindfulness exercise (ME) was positively associated with coping self-efficacy (CSE), emotion regulation (ER), and mental health (MH) in older adults.
Coping self-efficacy was positively associated with both emotion regulation and mental health.
Emotion regulation was positively associated with mental health among older adults.
Coping self-efficacy and emotion regulation jointly demonstrated a significant sequential mediating association between mindfulness exercise and mental health.
The study was conducted using a cross-sectional design, which limits causal interpretation of the identified associations.
This research suggests that among older adults in China, engaging in mindfulness exercise — defined as being attentive and aware during physical activity — is linked to better mental health. The study of 450 older adults found that this relationship may work through two psychological pathways: first, mindfulness exercise appears to be associated with greater coping self-efficacy (a person's confidence in their ability to handle stressful situations), and this in turn is linked to better emotion regulation (the ability to manage one's emotional responses), which then connects to better mental health outcomes. In other words, the benefits of mindful movement may partly come from building people's belief in their own coping abilities and improving how they manage their emotions. Because this was a cross-sectional study — meaning all data were collected at a single point in time — it is not possible to determine whether mindfulness exercise actually causes improvements in mental health, or whether people who already have better mental health are more likely to engage in mindful exercise. The authors are careful to describe their findings as associations rather than cause-and-effect relationships. The sample was also limited to older adults in one province of China, so the results may not apply universally. This research matters because population aging is a global trend, and finding accessible behavioral strategies to support mental health in older adults is increasingly important. The findings suggest that encouraging older adults to engage in physical activity with mindful awareness — paying attention to their movements and surroundings — could be a useful approach for supporting psychological well-being, potentially by strengthening their sense of personal resilience and emotional management skills. Future studies using longitudinal or experimental designs are needed to confirm whether these relationships are truly causal.
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Upload Your LabsYan Y, Ye Q, Dong J, Ye S, Li T. (2026). Mindfulness Exercise and Mental Health in Older Adults: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Mediating Roles of Coping Self-Efficacy and Emotion Regulation.. Clinical interventions in aging. https://doi.org/10.2147/CIA.S622746