ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Mindfulness
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1556619
Mindfulness Techniques for Athletic Excellence: The Mediating Role of Mental Resilience and Moderating Effect of Emotional Intelligence
Provisionally accepted
- Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
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The study anchors on the conservation of resource theory and examines the impact of mindfulness techniques on athletic performance through the mediating role of mental resilience and the moderating effect of emotional intelligence. Data were collected from 332 athletes in China using a time-lagged survey method over three waves. The proposed model was tested using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). The results demonstrate that awareness, nonjudgmental acceptance, and focused attention, as dimensions of mindfulness, significantly enhance mental resilience. In turn, mental resilience positively influences athletic performance.Additionally, emotional intelligence moderates the relationship between mindfulness techniques and mental resilience, as well as between mindfulness techniques and athletic performance. The mediation analysis confirms that mental resilience partially mediates the relationship between mindfulness and athletic performance. The goodness-of-fit index (GFI) confirms the adequacy of the model. These findings contribute to the understanding of how mindfulness and emotional intelligence interplay to foster mental resilience and enhance athletic outcomes. Practical implications for coaches and sports psychologists are discussed, suggesting that targeted mindfulness and emotional intelligence interventions may improve athletes' performance and wellbeing.
Keywords: Mindfulness techniques, Awareness, Non-Judgmental Acceptance, focused attention, mental resilience, Emotional Intelligence, Athletic Performance
Received: 07 Jan 2025; Accepted: 04 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qi. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Qi Qi, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
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