Mindfulness and emotional experience in daily life among elementary school students: The role of mind-wandering

As children go to elementary school, their main activities shift from games to learning, making them experience stronger emotional experiences than ever. Previous studies indicated that mindfulness could affect emotions. However, investigations on the relationship between mindfulness and emotions among children remain few and far between. To examine the relationship between state mindfulness and emotions and the role of mind-wandering in a daily context, 193 elementary school students reported their state mindfulness, emotions, and mind-wandering in ten consecutive days and their negative emotions at 6-month follow-up. Multilevel models were conducted to test the relation between mindfulness, mind-wandering, and emotions at different time points. Results showed that state mindfulness predicted more positive emotions and less negative emotions via a lower level of mind-wandering at the between-person level. However, the mediation model was not found six months later. These findings highlighted the important role of mind-wandering in terms of the beneficial effects of mindfulness on the emotional experience of elementary school students in daily life.