Emotional Creativity as a Pathway Linking Mindfulness to Academic Success

Introduction. Mindfulness has been linked to emotional regulation and well-being, yet its role in emotional creativity and academic achievement remains insufficiently understood. Emotional creativity involves the ability to experience, express, and regulate emotions in novel, effective, and authentic ways, which may be particularly important for university students facing academic and emotional demands. Objectives. This study examined (a) the association between mindfulness and emotional creativity, (b) whether mindfulness predicts academic achievement directly and indirectly through emotional creativity, (c) the differential effects of mindfulness facets on emotional creativity components, (d) the moderating role of academic major, and (e) differences in mindfulness and emotional creativity between high- and low-achieving students. Methods. Participants were 662 undergraduate students from multiple academic majors. Students completed the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) and the Emotional Creativity Inventory (ECI). Results. Observing and describing facets of mindfulness were positively associated with emotional preparedness, novelty, effectiveness/authenticity, and total emotional creativity. Acting with awareness and non-judging showed negative associations with selected emotional creativity components. Mindfulness did not directly predict GPA but had a significant indirect effect through emotional preparedness. Academic major moderated the mindfulness–emotional creativity relationship for Biology, Psychology, and French students. High-achieving students reported greater emotional preparedness, but not higher overall mindfulness or emotional creativity. Conclusions. Mindfulness contributes to emotional creativity in a facet-specific and context-dependent manner. Emotional preparedness serves as a key mechanism linking mindfulness to academic achievement. These findings highlight the importance of emotional awareness, clarity, and regulation in supporting both emotional development and academic success among university students.