Emotional Wellbeing During Occupational Engagement: A Role for Mindful Awareness

Abstract

Background: Emotional wellbeing reflects the quality and balance of individuals’ everyday emotional experiences and is a key contributor to overall health and quality of life. Engagement in routine occupations plays a central role in supporting wellbeing; however, the factors that influence how individuals emotionally experience these everyday occupations remain insufficiently understood. Mindful awareness has been proposed as a mechanism that may support emotional regulation during occupational engagement. This study examined the relationship between mindful awareness and emotional regulation during completion of daily occupations across two complementary studies. Methods: Two quantitative studies, each employing a descriptive cross-sectional study design, were conducted with healthy adult participants. In Study 1, 141 healthy community-dwelling adults completed the Mindful Attention and Awareness Scale (MAAS), Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) to assess associations among mindful awareness, emotional regulation, and affect.  In Study 2, 92 healthy adults completed the MAAS and the Emotional Experiences in Activities of Daily Living Scale (EEADLs) to explore how mindful awareness relates to emotional experiences during routine occupations. Results: Higher levels of mindful awareness were consistently associated with better regulation of negative emotions. In Study 1, individuals with high mindful awareness demonstrated fewer difficulties in emotional regulation.  In Study 2, mindful awareness was associated with reduced experiences of negative emotions, including frustration and overwhelm while engaging in routine occupations. Conclusion: Findings suggest that mindful awareness supports emotional regulation during everyday activities. Assessing emotional experiences during routine occupational engagement may inform occupational therapy interventions aimed at promoting emotional wellbeing and supporting sustained occupational participation across populations.