Relation between mindfulness and psychological distress among the Bangladeshi young adults: the moderating role of cognitive emotion regulation

The present study investigated the moderating role of emotion regulation strategies in the relationship between psychological distress and mindfulness among Bangladeshi young adults. It further aimed to understand how individuals’ adaptive and maladaptive strategies may contribute to psychological distress and mindfulness. The Bangla versions of three questionnaires, namely the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ), Mindfulness Attention Awareness Scale (MAAS), and the Kessler Psychological Distress (K6) Scale, were used. Pearson product-moment correlation showed a significant negative relationship between psychological distress and mindfulness. Furthermore, analyses also revealed a negative association of mindfulness with maladaptive CER strategies and a positive association with adaptive CER strategies. Hierarchical regression analysis and Modgraph expressed how the CER strategies moderated the relationship between the two key variables. These results demonstrate the moderating role of emotion regulation between mindfulness and psychological distress, suggesting avenues for promoting mental health in this population.