How Mindfulness Shapes Life Satisfaction in Married Couples: Evidence from a Crossover Model

Mindfulness has been shown to be associated with higher life satisfaction at the individual level, but research on its effects at the couple level remains limited. The present study employed crossover theory as a framework to examine the relationship between individual mindfulness and both personal and spousal life satisfaction, and further tested the mechanism of this association via perceived social support. Data were collected in a two-wave survey over a three-month period, involving 218 Chinese married couples. Demographic and mindfulness data were gathered at Time 1, while data on perceived social support and life satisfaction were collected at Time 2. The hypotheses were tested using structural equation modeling with dyadic data analysis to account for the interdependence of husband-wife matched data. The findings revealed a positive correlation between mindfulness and individual life satisfaction, mediated by an enhancement in perceived social support. Additionally, an asymmetrical crossover effect emerged, with wives’ mindfulness positively associated with husbands’ life satisfaction through the crossover of perceived social support between partners, whereas no significant association was observed between husbands’ mindfulness and wives’ life satisfaction. This study extends our foundational understanding of how mindfulness contributes to enhancing life satisfaction at the couple level and provides valuable insights into gender differences in this context. These findings also have practical implications for developing interventions aimed at boosting life satisfaction among individuals and couples, and they lay the foundation for future research in this area.