The relationship between critical thinking, mindfulness, and psychological well-being

Abstract

This study aimed to explore the interrelation between critical thinking, cognitive distortion, mindfulness, and psychological well-being. The sample comprised 287 senior secondary school students (57% male, 43% female) aged 14 to 19 from a local secondary school in Hong Kong. The results revealed that mindfulness moderated the relation between critical thinking and psychological well-being. Mindfulness was also found to moderate the relation between deduction skills and psychological well-being as mediated by cognitive distortion. In low mindfulness conditions, critical thinking was positively associated with cognitive distortion and affective symptoms. Such associations were not observed in high mindfulness conditions. The findings are explained, and the implications derived from which are discussed.