Dietary and lifestyle factors and resilience: the role of psychological flexibility as a mediator

<b>Objective:</b> This study examines the relationship between diet quality, lifestyle factors, psychological flexibility, and resilience, with a focus on the potential mediating role of psychological flexibility. <b>Participants:</b> A total of 401 college student records were assessed, with approximately 58% identifying as female and a mean age of 19 years. <b>Method:</b> An anonymous online survey was distributed over social media platforms targeting U.S. colleges. The associations between the variables were tested using structural equation modeling (SEM) in Mplus software. <b>Results:</b> Eating breakfast five or more times per week (<i>b</i> = 0.12, 95% CI = [0.035, 0.229], <i>B</i> = 0.14), and consuming fast food three or fewer times per week (<i>b</i> = 0.09, 95% CI = [0.001, 0.196], <i>B</i> = 0.10) were associated with increased resilience through psychological flexibility processes. In contrast, female gender (<i>b</i> = -0.11, 95% CI = [-0.222, -0.023], <i>B</i> = -0.13) and getting fewer than 6 h of sleep at night (<i>b</i> = -0.10, 95% CI = [-0.342, -0.100], <i>B</i> = -0.24) were associated with lower resilience through psychological flexibility processes. Independent of psychological flexibility, consuming fish oil four or more times per week (<i>b</i> = 0.41, <i>p</i> = .017), exercising more than 20 min daily (<i>B</i> = 0.22, <i>p</i> = .032), alcohol consumption (<i>B</i> = 0.29, <i>p</i> = .003), and pursuing a higher degree (<i>B</i> = 0.15, <i>p</i> = .014) were directly associated with higher resilience, while marijuana use (<i>B</i> = -0.42, <i>p</i> < .001), was directly associated with lower resilience. <b>Conclusion:</b> There is a direct positive association between psychological flexibility and resilience, suggesting that psychological flexibility may be a predictor of higher resilience.