The conditional indirect role of mindfulness and perceived social support in the relationship between mind-wandering and psychological flexibility through stress in athletes

Aim: To examine the mediating role of stress in the relationship between mind-wandering and psychological flexibility among athletes and the moderating effects of mindfulness and perceived social support. Materials and Methods: A correlational design was used with 350 licensed athletes aged 18 years and older. Data were collected using the Personal Information Form, Mind-Wandering Questionnaire (MWQ), Psychological Flexibility in Sport Scale (PFSS), Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), Athlete Mindfulness Scale, and Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support. Analyses were conducted using SPSS 25, AMOS 26, and Hayes’ (2022) PROCESS Macro Model 21, and mediation and conditional indirect effects were tested using bootstrap procedures. Results: Mind wandering significantly and negatively predicted psychological flexibility and positively predicted perceived stress. Perceived stress negatively predicted psychological flexibility and mediated its relationship with mind wandering. Additionally, sport mindfulness moderated the relationship between mind wandering and perceived stress, while perceived social support moderated the relationship between perceived stress and psychological flexibility. Conclusion: Findings indicate that mind-wandering affects psychological flexibility directly and indirectly. Stress acts as an explanatory mechanism, while mindfulness and perceived social support are protective factors