Relationship between mindfulness and hoarding among Chinese college students: a terror management theory perspective

Although mindfulness has been shown to bring many benefits, no research to date has examined whether it is associated with reduced hoarding behavior during health disasters. This study employed terror management theory to explore “how” and “why” mindfulness correlates with hoarding behavior. A two-wave survey was conducted among 310 Chinese university students with a one-week interval during the COVID-19 outbreak. Structural Equation Modeling analysis indicated that mindfulness was negatively correlated with hoarding behavior through three distinct pathways: a simple mediation through decreased death anxiety, a sequential mediation through increased self-esteem and decreased death anxiety, and another sequential mediation through increased perceived social support and decreased death anxiety. These pathways elucidate a novel understanding of how mindfulness contributes to less hoarding behavior, while extending the applications of terror management theory to crisis-related consumption. The results underscore mindfulness as a key factor in curbing hoarding behavior during COVID-19 pandemic, with implications for practical interventions and future research on behavioral responses to health-related crises.