Interpersonal mindfulness as a mediator in the relationship between physical activity and bullying-related outcomes among high school students

This study investigated the potential mediating role of interpersonal mindfulness, defined as mindful awareness and nonjudgmental presence during social interactions, in the relationships between physical activity, bullying behavior, and victimization among high school students in Iran. Understanding these pathways is important for designing effective anti-bullying interventions. Data were collected from a convenience sample of 346 high school students in Iran, and covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to analyze the data with Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE). The mediating effect of interpersonal mindfulness was examined using the Sobel test for overall bullying and through submodels for specific bullying dimensions, including bullying behavior, fighting, and victimization. The overall model showed a good fit to the data. Results indicated a significant positive correlation between physical activity and interpersonal mindfulness (r = .15, p < .01), as well as a significant negative correlation between interpersonal mindfulness and overall bullying (r = −.28, p < .01). Interpersonal mindfulness significantly mediated the relationship between physical activity and overall bullying (r = −.05, p < .01). Further submodel analyses showed that interpersonal mindfulness also significantly mediated the relationships between physical activity and both bullying behavior and fighting. These findings suggest that interpersonal mindfulness is an important pathway through which physical activity may help reduce overall bullying, particularly bullying behavior and fighting, but not victimization. Promoting interpersonal mindfulness together with physical activity may be a useful approach in comprehensive anti-bullying programs for high school students.