Mindfulness as a Buffer Against Stress: A Moderation Analysis of University Student Psychological Well-Being

University students frequently experience elevated stress that negatively impacts psychological well-being. Excessive stress acts as a barrier to well-being, academic success, and overall quality of life for university students, which can pose ongoing challenges for universities in supporting students effectively. Mindfulness, which is typically defined as present-moment, nonjudgmental awareness, has been proposed as a potential protective factor. Although prior research links mindfulness to lower stress and increased well-being, its buffering role between stress and psychological well-being remains unclear in undergraduate populations. Addressing this gap is important for informing evidence-based interventions aimed at promoting resilience and retention in higher education. This cross-sectional survey examined whether trait attentional awareness (i.e., a foundational component of mindfulness) moderated the relationship between perceived stress and psychological well-being among University of Calgary undergraduate students (N = 237). Participants completed the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), and the 18-item Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS). Due to poor reliability and inadequate fit of the theorized six-factor PWBS structure, exploratory factor analysis supported a two-factor solution representing hedonic and eudaimonic well-being. These factors were used as outcomes in two moderated regression models. Results indicated that perceived stress was a significant negative predictor of both forms of well-being, whereas attentional awareness demonstrated a small positive association with hedonic well-being only. Attentional awareness did not moderate the stress–well-being relationship for either outcome. Overall, the findings indicate that attentional awareness, as operationalized in the present study, was associated with well-being but did not function as a stress-buffering factor in this undergraduate sample. Results highlight the need for multidimensional mindfulness measures and more psychometrically robust well-being instruments in future research.