Mindfulness and Its Relationship to Academic Passion Among University Students

Abstract

The study aimed to examine the levels of mindfulness and academic passion among students at Salahaddin University – Erbil, as well as to explore the nature of the relationship between these two variables and investigate differences in their levels according to gender, field of study, and academic year. The researchers employed the descriptive correlational design due to its suitability for the nature and objectives of the study. The sample consisted of (312 )male and female students from the first and fourth years, selected through stratified random sampling from a range of scientific and humanities colleges at Salahaddin University – Erbil, ensuring representation of the university’s major academic disciplines.Two main instruments were used: the first was a mindfulness scale developed based on the theoretical framework of the construct and grounded in Kabat-Zinn’s (1994) theory; the second was the Academic Passion Scale developed by Vallerand et al. (2003-A), which was translated into Kurdish. The validity of both instruments was established through face and logical validity, and their reliability was confirmed using the test–retest method in addition to Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, which indicated acceptable internal consistency. For data analysis, a set of statistical methods was employed, including the one-sample t-test, independent-samples t-test, three-way ANOVA with interaction, and Pearson’s correlation coefficient. The findings revealed that the participants had a mean mindfulness score of 125.5 (SD = 11.863) and a mean academic passion score of 58.23 (SD = 14.931). A statistically significant positive correlation was found between mindfulness and harmonious passion (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). The results also showed significant differences in mindfulness by gender (t = 3.700, p < 0.001) in favor of males, and significant differences in academic passion by gender (t = 2.408, p < 0.05) in favor of females, as well as by field of study in favor of the scientific disciplines (t = 3.323, p < 0.01). In conclusion, the researchers presented a set of recommendations and suggestions.