The relationships among self-care, dispositional mindfulness, and psychological distress in medical students

BACKGROUND: Past research suggests that medical students experience high levels of psychological distress. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the current study was to investigate the relationships among engagement in self-care behaviours, dispositional mindfulness, and psychological distress. METHODS: The sample consisted of 139 female and 68 male Australian medical students (N=207) aged 17–41 years (M=21.82, SD=3.62) across the 5 years of the Monash University medical course. Participants completed an online survey comprising a demographics questionnaire, the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, and the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scales. RESULTS: Results revealed significant and interpretable multivariate correlations between distress and both mindfulness and self-care. Furthermore, the dispositional mindfulness observation subscale was found to be a significant moderator of the relationship between several dimensions of self-care and psychological distress. CONCLUSIONS: The present study points to the potential of self-care and mindfulness to decrease medical student distress and enhance well-being.