The Mediating Role of Prosocial Motivation in the Relationship Between Dispositional Mindfulness and Psychological Well-Being Among Preservice Teachers

The primary purpose of this study to investigate the mediating role of prosocial motivation in the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and psychological well-being among preservice teachers. A total of 1280 preservice teachers selected from eight Education Degree Colleges under the Department of Teacher Education, Ministry of Education, Myanmar was examined by using a questionnaire survey method. The Dispositional Mindfulness Scale, which was developed and validated by the researcher through exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses; the Prosocial Regulation Questionnaire (PSR-Q; Ryan & Connell, 1989); and the Psychological Well-Being Scale (PWBS; Ryff, 1989) were used as the research instruments. The results indicated significant positive relationships among dispositional mindfulness, prosocial motivation, and psychological well-being. Dispositional mindfulness was positively correlated with prosocial motivation (r = .281, p < .001) and psychological well-being (r = .509, p < .001), while prosocial motivation was positively correlated with psychological well-being (r = .349, p < .001). Lastly, the process macro bootstrap method of Hayes (2018) was conducted to reveal the mediating role of prosocial motivation on the prediction of preservice teachers’ dispositional mindfulness and psychological well-being. The results pointed out that prosocial motivation partially mediated the relationship between dispositional mindfulness and psychological well-being. The study highlights the importance of integrating dispositional mindfulness and prosocial development into teacher education programs to support preservice teachers’ psychological well-being and professional development.