artigo

1. Emotional intelligence mediates the relationship between mindfulness
and subjective well-being
Nicola S. Schutte ⇑
, John M. Malouff
Department of Psychology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia
a r t i c l e i n f o
Article history:
Received 4 November 2010
Received in revised form 21 January 2011
Accepted 25 January 2011
Available online 22 February 2011
Keywords:
Mindfulness
Emotional intelligence
Subjective well-being
Positive affect
Negative affect
Life satisfaction
a b s t r a c t
Both mindfulness and emotional intelligence are associated with positive life outcomes, including greater
subjective well-being. The present study examined whether emotional intelligence mediates the
relationship between mindfulness and subjective well-being. Participants completed measures of charac-
teristic mindfulness, emotional intelligence, and affect and life satisfaction as indices of subjective well-
being. Higher levels of mindfulness were associated with greater emotional intelligence, positive affect,
and life satisfaction and lower negative affect. Higher levels of emotional intelligence were associated
with greater positive affect and life satisfaction and lower negative affect. Emotional intelligence medi-
ated between mindfulness and higher positive affect, lower negative affect, and greater life satisfaction.
These results provide information regarding a possible process through which mindfulness exerts its
beneficial effects.
Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
1. Introduction
Mindfulness consists of non-evaluative awareness and focus on
the present. Mindfulness is a flexible state of consciousness that
encompasses open and receptive attention and awareness of both
one’s inner state and the outside world (Brown & Ryan, 2003;
Brown, Ryan, & Creswell, 2007). Characteristics of mindfulness in-
clude clarity of awareness, non-conceptual (or non-semantic)
awareness, ability to widen or narrow attention, non-interference
of evaluation or judgement with sensory experience, orientation
to the present, and aware transitions between focus of attention
such as in transitions between attention on the inner self and the
outer world (Brown et al., 2007). As Brown et al. (2007) pointed
out, as well as being a state of consciousness, mindfulness is also
a trait, in that some individuals are more typically in a mindful
state than other individuals. Studies of the biological underpin-
nings of higher levels of trait mindfulness (e.g., Frewen et al.,
2010) suggest that mindfulness is associated with differential brain
activation during emotional processing.
Higher levels of mindfulness are associated with an impressive
variety of good outcomes, including better mental health, greater
relationship satisfaction, and more effective management of pain
(Brown et al., 2007). One of the most firmly established correlates
of trait mindfulness is greater subjective well-being (Baer et al.,
2008; Brown, Kasser, Ryan, Linley, & Orzech, 2009; Brown & Ryan,
2003; Falkenstrom, 2010; Howell, Digdon, Buro, & Sheptycki,
2008). For example, greater mindfulness is associated with signif-
icantly more positive affect, less negative affect, and greater life
satisfaction (Brown & Ryan, 2003). As mindfulness increases as a
result of interventions, such as meditation training, well-being also
tends to increase (Falkenstrom, 2010; Fredrickson, Cohn, Coffey,
Pek, & Finkel, 2008; Zautra et al., 2008).
Some preliminary evidence suggests that higher levels of mind-
fulness are associated with more adaptive emotional functioning,
operationalized as emotional intelligence (Baer, Smith, & Allen,
2004; Brown & Ryan, 2003). Models of emotional intelligence
(Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2008; Salovey & Mayer, 1990) include
emotional abilities or competencies (such as perceiving, under-
standing, managing and harnessing emotions effectively in the self
and others) that group together and that involve drawing on emo-
tion in adaptive ways. Perceiving of emotion involves recognizing
emotional cues. Understanding emotion entails applying knowl-
edge of the complexities and subtleties of emotional experience.
Managing emotions involves being able to regulate emotions effec-
tively and appropriately. Harnessing emotions consists of utilizing
emotion towards other ends such as drawing on positive mood to
facilitate creativity.
Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso (2004) argued that emotional intel-
ligence is best conceived of as an ability similar in nature to cogni-
tive intelligence. Other theorists and researchers (Neubauer &
Freudenthaler, 2005; Petrides & Furnham, 2003) posited that emo-
tional intelligence can also be conceptualized as dispositional or
trait functioning. Even though the emotional intelligence literature
0191-8869/$ - see front matter Ó 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.01.037
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 6773 3779.
E-mail address: nschutte@une.edu.au (N.S. Schutte).
Personality and Individual Differences 50 (2011) 1116–1119
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Personality and Individual Differences
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/paid

2. has sometimes presented ability and trait functioning conceptuali-
sations of emotional intelligence as mutually exclusive alternatives
(e.g., Mayer, Salovey, & Caruso, 2000), they may be complementary
dimensions of adaptive emotional functioning (Schutte, Malouff, &
Bhullar, 2009). Higher levels of emotional intelligence, both mea-
sured as a trait and as an ability, have been found to be associated
with various positive outcomes, and especially with indices of
subjective well-being such as positive affect and life satisfaction
(Austin, Saklofske, & Egan, 2005; Brackett & Mayer, 2003; Brackett,
Mayer, & Warner, 2004; Martins, Ramalho, & Marin, 2010; Schutte
et al., 2009; Schutte, Malouff, Simunek, McKenley, & Hollander,
2002; Schutte, Malouff, Thorsteinsson, Bhullar, & Rooke, 2007;
Van Rooy & Viswesvaran, 2004; Wing, Schutte, & Byrne, 2006).
Core aspects of mindfulness help explain the connection between
emotional intelligence and mindfulness. As Brown et al. (2007)
pointed out mindfulness adds ‘‘clarity and vividness to current expe-
rience and encourages closer, moment-to-moment sensory contact
with life’’ (p. 219) and ‘‘enhances self-regulated functioning that
comes with ongoing attentional sensitivity to psychological, somatic
and environmental cues’’ (p. 220). Koole (2009) pointed out that
mindfulness encourages development of emotional regulation.
Thus, core aspects of mindfulness may make it more likely that indi-
viduals develop the competencies comprising emotional intelli-
gence. Mindfulness may encourage individuals to accurately
perceive their own and others’ emotions and effectively regulate
emotions. The non-evaluative aspect of mindfulness should make
it more likely that individuals are able to gain accurate understand-
ingof their own and others’ emotions.The self-regulatedfunctioning
inherentin mindfulness relatesto the emotionmanagement compo-
nent of emotional intelligence. Finally, awareness of current emo-
tions may facilitate the timely harnessing of emotions.
Facilitating the growth of emotional intelligence may be one of
the processes through which mindfulness brings about desirable
outcomes. Greater subjective well-being is associated with both
more mindfulness (Baer et al., 2008; Brown et al., 2009; Brown &
Ryan, 2003; Falkenstrom, 2010) and higher emotional intelligence
(Austin et al., 2005; Brackett & Mayer, 2003; Brackett et al., 2004;
Schutte et al., 2009, 2002; Van Rooy & Viswesvaran, 2004; Wing
et al., 2006). Mindfulness may facilitate the development of greater
emotional intelligence, and emotional intelligence in turn may lead
to greater well-being.
The present study set out first to replicate previous findings
regarding the connections between mindfulness and subjective
well-being, mindfulness and emotional intelligence, and emotional
intelligence and subjective well-being. High positive affect, low
negative affect, and greater life satisfaction are often used as indi-
ces of subjective well-being (Lyubomirsky, King, & Diener, 2005)
and the present study likewise used them as indicators of subjec-
tive well-being. Second, the study set out to examine whether
emotional intelligence mediates the relationship between mindful-
ness and subjective well-being.
2. Method
2.1. Participants and procedure
One hundred and twenty-five university students, including
many mature aged returning students from different regions of
Australia, participated in the study. Participants’ mean age was
34.17 (SD = 9.63); 108 were women, 14 were men and three did
not report their gender. The high percentage of women participat-
ing was consistent with high percentage of female students in the
student population. Participants anonymously completed online
previously developed and validated scales (in the order of Freiburg
Mindfulness Inventory, Assessing Emotions Scale, PANAS, and Sat-
isfaction with Life) comprising the study material.
2.2. Measures
2.2.1. Mindfulness
Trait mindfulness was assessed through the short form of the
Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (Kohls, Sauer, & Walach, 2009;
Walach, Buchheld, Buttenmuller, Kleinknecht, & Schmidt, 2006).
The scale assesses the extent to which individuals focus on the
present in a non-evaluative manner. In previous research this short
form of the inventory had an internal consistency of 0.86 and evi-
dence of validity such as associations with years of practice of
meditation and lower levels of depression and anxiety (Kohls
et al., 2009). In the present study the internal consistency of the
scale, as assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.82.
2.2.2. Emotional intelligence
The Assessing Emotions Scale (Schutte et al., 1998, 2009) was
used to measure trait emotional intelligence. The scale assesses
how effectively respondents typically identify, understand, regu-
late, and harness emotions in themselves and others. In previous
research the scale had internal consistency of between 0.87 and
0.90, a two-week test–retest reliability of 0.78, and evidence of
construct validity through association with related constructs
(Schutte et al., 1998, 2009), including associations with other mea-
sures of trait emotional intelligence (Kirk, Schutte, & Hine, 2008)
and ability emotional intelligence (Schutte, Malouff, & Hine, in
press). In the present study the internal consistency of the scale,
as assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.87.
2.2.3. Positive and negative affect
The Positive and Negative Affect Scales (PANAS; Watson, Clark,
& Tellegen, 1988) assess positive and negative affect. The Negative
and Positive Affect Scales consist of emotion descriptors (such as
‘‘enthusiastic’’ for the Positive Affect Scale and ‘‘guilty’’ for the Neg-
ative Affect Scale). The PANAS has different instructions for differ-
ent time periods, ranging from how the respondent feels at the
moment (state affect) to how the respondent generally feels (trait
affect). The present study used the general (trait) instructions. In
previous research internal consistency for the scales using the trait
instructions ranged from 0.85 to 0.88, eight-week test–retest reli-
ability ranged from 0.68 to 0.71, and the scales showed evidence
of validity, including expected associations with other measure of
mood (Watson et al., 1988). In the present research internal consis-
tency, as assessed by Cronbach’s alpha, was 0.85 for the Positive
Affect Scale and 0.84 for the Negative Affect Scale.
2.2.4. Satisfaction with life
The Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, &
Griffin, 1985) is a measure of global life satisfaction. In previous re-
search the internal consistency of the measure ranged from 0.82 to
0.87 and the scale showed evidence of construct validity through
associations with theoretically related constructs, including other
aspects of subjective well-being (Pavot & Diener, 1993). In the
present study the scale had an internal consistency of 0.89.
3. Results
Greater mindfulness was significantly associated with more po-
sitive affect, more life satisfaction, and less negative affect. Greater
mindfulness was also associated with higher emotional intelli-
gence. Higher emotional intelligence was associated with more po-
sitive affect, more life satisfaction and less negative affect (see
Table 1).
Mediation analysis traditionally involves four steps (Kinney,
2006). First, the predictor must correlate with the dependent
variable. Second, the mediator must correlate with the dependent
N.S. Schutte, J.M. Malouff / Personality and Individual Differences 50 (2011) 1116–1119 1117

3. variable. Third, in a multivariate regression that includes both the
predictor and the mediator, the mediator must have a significant
semi partial correlation with the dependent variable. Fourth, in
that same regression, the semi partial correlation between the pre-
dictor and the dependent variable must be smaller than the
0-order correlation of the two variables. Preacher and Hayes
(2004) suggested a fifth step, showing that the reduction in corre-
lation is statistically significant, using the Sobel test, which in-
volves bootstrapping methods. We tested three mediation
models, each including mindfulness as the predictor and emotional
intelligence as the mediator. For the three tests, the dependent
variable was, respectively, positive affect, negative affect, and life
satisfaction. For each of the models, the five steps indicated medi-
ation. Table 1 shows the needed associations for mediation steps 1
and 2. Table 2 shows steps 3, 4, and 5, including the results of the
multivariate analyses and the Sobel test significance levels.
Emotional intelligence partially mediated the relationship between
greater mindfulness and more positive affect. Emotional intelli-
gence fully mediated the relationship between greater mindfulness
and less negative affect. Finally, emotional intelligence partially
mediated the relationship between greater mindfulness and more
life satisfaction. For each of the models, the Sobel test using the
bootstrapping method indicated significant mediation.
4. Discussion
The present study found that higher levels of characteristic mind-
fulness were associated with higher trait emotional intelligence,
higher levels of positive affect, lower levels of negative affect, and
greater life satisfaction. These results are consistent with previous
preliminary research on the relationship between mindfulness and
emotional intelligence (Baer et al., 2004; Brown & Ryan, 2003) and
subjective well-being (Baer et al., 2008; Brown & Ryan, 2003; Brown
et al., 2009; Falkenstrom, 2010). The present study also found that
higher levels of emotional intelligence were associated with higher
levels of positive affect, lower levels of negative affect, and greater
life satisfaction. These results are consistent with previous research
on the association between emotional intelligence and subjective
well-being (Austin et al., 2005; Brackett & Mayer, 2003; Brackett
et al., 2004; Schutte et al., 2002, 2009; Van Rooy & Viswesvaran,
2004; Wing et al., 2006).
A primary purpose of the study was to test the hypothesis that
emotional intelligence mediates the relationship between mindful-
ness and subjective well-being. The theoretical underpinning for
this hypothesis is that the core attentional and non-judgemental
aspects of mindfulness may facilitate the development of greater
emotional intelligence and that the adaptive intra and interper-
sonal functioning inherent in emotional intelligence in turn may
lead to greater well-being. The present study found that emotional
intelligence did significantly mediate between mindfulness and
higher positive affect, lower negative affect, and greater life satis-
faction. These three characteristics are often used as indices of sub-
jective well-being (Lyubomirsky et al., 2005).
The findings thus provide evidence of a connection between
mindfulness and emotional intelligence and between those two
characteristics and subjective well-being. If, as proposed, mindful-
ness leads to increased emotional intelligence, this provides infor-
mation regarding one possible process through which mindfulness
exerts its beneficial effects. Further, mindfulness training could
provide a practical means of increasing emotional intelligence
and characteristics influenced by emotional intelligence.
The sample consisted of university students and was largely
female. Future research might examine the relationships between
mindfulness, emotional intelligence and well-being in other sam-
ples. Even though the mediation analyses are consistent with the
theoretical predictions, as the mediation design used in the present
study was correlational, caution should be used in reaching causal
conclusions. Future research using longitudinal designs or inter-
ventions aimed at increasing mindfulness may provide more defi-
nite information regarding the direction of causality between the
development of mindfulness and emotional intelligence and their
relationship to subjective well-being. Future research might also
explore the possible mediating role of emotional intelligence in
the relationship between mindfulness and other variables such
as stress and physical health.
References
Austin, E. J., Saklofske, D. H., & Egan, V. (2005). Personality, well-being and health
correlates of trait emotional intelligence. Personality and Individual Differences,
38, 547–558.
Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., & Allen, K. B. (2004). Assessment of mindfulness by self-
report. The Kentucky inventory of mindfulness skills. Assessment, 11, 191–206.
Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Lykins, E., Button, D., Krietemeyer, J., & Sauer, S. (2008).
Construct validity of the five facet mindfulness questionnaire in meditating and
non-meditating samples. Assessment, 15, 329–342.
Brackett, M. A., & Mayer, J. D. (2003). Convergent, discriminant, and incremental
validity of competing measures of emotional intelligence. Personality and Social
Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1147–1158.
Brackett, M. A., Mayer, J. D., & Warner, R. M. (2004). Emotional intelligence and its
relation to everyday behaviour. Personality and Individual Differences, 36,
1387–1402.
Table 1
Correlations, means, and standard deviations (N = 125).
Measures Mindfulness Emotional intelligence Positive affect Negative affect Life satisfaction
Mindfulness –
Emotional intelligence 0.65**
–
Positive affect 0.57**
0.55**
–
Negative affect À0.22*
À0.31**
0.03 –
Life satisfaction 0.48**
0.47**
0.00 À0.41**
–
Mean 36.44 122.24 30.83 17.34 23.34
Standard deviation 6.20 13.07 4.88 4.85 6.99
*
p = 0.05.
**
p = 0.01.
Table 2
Mediation analyses (N = 125).
Multivariate correlation of dependent
variable with predictor and mediator
Multivariate analyses Mediation pa
Semi
partial r
t p
Positive affect
Mindfulness 0.28 3.83 0.001
Emotional intelligence 0.24 3.34 0.001 0.002
Negative affect
Mindfulness À0.03 0.36 0.72
Emotional intelligence À0.21 2.40 0.018 0.021
Life satisfaction
Mindfulness 0.23 2.98 0.004
Emotional intelligence 0.21 2.65 0.009 0.011
a
Based on 3000 bootstrap resamples using the Sobel test.
1118 N.S. Schutte, J.M. Malouff / Personality and Individual Differences 50 (2011) 1116–1119

4. Brown, K. W., Kasser, T., Ryan, R. M., Linley, A., & Orzech, K. (2009). When what one
has is enough: Mindfulness, financial desire discrepancy, and subjective well-
being. Journal of Research in Personality, 43, 727–736.
Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and
its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
84, 822–848.
Brown, K. W., Ryan, R. M., & Creswell, J. D. (2007). Mindfulness: Theoretical
foundations and evidence for its salutary effects. Psychological Inquiry, 18,
211–237.
Diener, E., Emmons, R. A., Larsen, R. J., & Griffin, G. (1985). The satisfaction with life
scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 49, 71–75.
Falkenstrom, F. (2010). Studying mindfulness in experienced mediators: A quasi-
experimental approach. Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 305–310.
Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts
build lives: Positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation,
build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social
Psychology, 95, 1045–1062.
Frewen, P. A., Dozois, D. J. A., Neufeld, R. W. J., Lane, R. D., Densmore, M., Stevens, T.
K., et al. (2010). Individual differences in trait mindfulness predict dorsomedial
prefrontal and amygdala response during emotional imagery: An fMRI study.
Personality and Individual Differences, 49, 479–484.
Howell, A. J., Digdon, N. L., Buro, K., & Sheptycki, A. R. (2008). Relations among
mindfulness, well-being, and sleep. Personality and Individual Differences, 45,
773–777.
Kinney, D. A. (2006). Mediation. Available from: http://www.davidakenny.net/cm/
mediate.htm Retrieved 12.03.10.
Kirk, B. A., Schutte, N. S., & Hine, D. W. (2008). Development and preliminary
validation of an emotional self-efficacy scale. Personality and Individual
Differences, 45, 432–436.
Kohls, S., Sauer, S., & Walach, H. (2009). Facets of mindfulness: Results of an online
study investigating the Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory. Personality and
Individual Differences, 46, 224–230.
Koole, S. L. (2009). The psychology of emotion regulation: An integrative review.
Cognition and Emotion, 23, 4–41.
Lyubomirsky, S., King, L. A., & Diener, E. (2005). The benefits of frequent positive
affect: Does happiness lead to success? Psychological Bulletin, 131, 803–855.
Martins, A., Ramalho, N., & Marin, E. (2010). A comprehensive meta-analysis of the
relationship between emotional intelligence and health. Personality and
Individual Differences, 49, 554–564.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. (2000). Models of emotional intelligence. In R. J.
Sternberg (Ed.), Handbook of intelligence (pp. 396–420). New York: Cambridge
University Press.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2004). Emotional intelligence: Theory,
findings, and implications. Psychological Inquiry, 15, 197–215.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2008). Emotional intelligence: New ability
or eclectic traits? American Psychologist, 63, 503–517.
Neubauer, A. C., & Freudenthaler, H. H. (2005). Models of emotional intelligence. In
R. Schultz & R. D. Roberts (Eds.), Emotional intelligence: An international
handbook (pp. 31–50). Cambridge, MA: Hogrefe.
Pavot, W., & Diener, E. (1993). Review of the satisfaction with life scales.
Psychological Assessment, 5, 164–172.
Petrides, K. V., & Furnham, A. (2003). Trait emotional intelligence: Behavioral
validation in two studies of emotion recognition and reactivity to mood
induction. European Journal of Personality, 17, 39–57.
Preacher, K. J., & Hayes, A. F. (2004). SPSS and SAS procedures for estimating indirect
effects in simple mediation models. Behavior Research Methods: Instruments and
Computers, 36, 717–731.
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and
Personality, 9, 185–211.
Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., & Hine, D. W. (in press). The association of ability and trait
emotional intelligence with alcohol problems. Addiction Research and Theory.
Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., & Bhullar, N. (2009). The assessing emotions scale. In C.
Stough, D. Saklofske, & J. Parker (Eds.), The assessment of emotional intelligence
(pp. 119–135). New York: Springer.
Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Hall, L. E., Haggerty, D. J., Cooper, J. T., Golden, C. J., et al.
(1998). Development and validation of a measure of emotional intelligence.
Personality and Individual Differences, 25, 167–177.
Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Simunek, M., McKenley, J., & Hollander, S. (2002).
Characteristic emotional intelligence and emotional well-being. Cognition and
Emotion, 16, 769–786.
Schutte, N. S., Malouff, J. M., Thorsteinsson, E. B., Bhullar, N., & Rooke, S. E. (2007). A
meta-analytic investigation of the relationship between emotional intelligence
and health. Personality and Individual Differences, 42, 921–933.
Van Rooy, D. L., & Viswesvaran, C. (2004). Emotional intelligence: A meta-analytic
investigation of predictive validity and nomological net. Journal of Vocational
Behavior, 65, 71–95.
Walach, H., Buchheld, N., Buttenmuller, V., Kleinknecht, N., & Schmidt, S. (2006).
Measuring mindfulness – The Freiburg Mindfulness Inventory (FMI). Personality
and Individual Differences, 40, 1543–1555.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Tellegen, A. (1988). Development and validation of brief
measures of positive and negative affect: The PANAS scales. Journal of
Personality and Social Psychology, 54, 1063–1070.
Wing, J. F., Schutte, N. S., & Byrne, B. (2006). The effect of positive writing on
emotional intelligence and life satisfaction. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 62,
1291–1302.
Zautra, A. J., Davis, M. C., Reich, J. W., Nicassario, P., Tennen, H., & Finan, P.
(2008). Comparison of cognitive behavioral and mindfulness meditation
interventions on adaptation to rheumatoid arthritis for patients with and
without history of recurrent depression. Journal of Consulting and Clinical
Psychology, 76, 408–421.
N.S. Schutte, J.M. Malouff / Personality and Individual Differences 50 (2011) 1116–1119 1119