Mindfulness: Evaluating Its Influence on Psychological Well-being and the

REUT PAZ^1,2*Nitza Davidovich Davidovitch²

• ¹Hemdat Hadarom College of Education, Netivot, Israel
• ²Ariel University, Ariel, Israel

In the last decade, mindfulness-based programs have been assimilated among educational staff 5 to cultivate socio-emotional skills and mental resilience. Most mindfulness programs use 6 generic international models, omitting explicit acknowledgement of cultural and ethnic 7 differences. Recent research highlights the importance of considering participants' identities 8 and diverse cultural and religious needs. The first aim of the current study is to explore whether 9 mindfulness affects psychological well-being among Orthodox Jewish teachers. additionally, 10 the study examined the relationship between mindfulness as a personality trait and 11 psychological well-being and resilience among Orthodox Jewish teachers. The second aim is 12 to examine whether there is a tension in practicing mindfulness, among participants who are 13 Orthodox educators, and whether there is a need for cultural adaptations for religious 14 populations to increase the effectiveness of the program. 15 The participants in this pioneer study were Orthodox teachers and principals from state 16 religious schools who participated in the mindfulness program. The questionnaires were 17 distributed among Orthodox teachers to characterize the group on several measures related to 18 psychological well-being and resilience, as well as on measures of religiosity, to clarify whether 19 there is an association between deep-rooted religious foundations and perceived mental 20 resilience.