Restorativeness mediates the effect of a brief virtual reality mindfulness exposure with a multi-ethnic group in a natural environment on global identity salience: a pilot study with adolescents.

Introduction: Adolescents are increasingly exposed to global challenges, making it important to promote a sense of global identity-defined as a psychological connection with humanity as a whole. While scholars have highlighted the role of mindfulness and restorativeness in promoting global identity Methods: A quasi-experimental between-subjects design was adopted, involving 94 Italian adolescents randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (i) a 360-degree VR video showing a group of multi-ethnic youths practicing mindfulness in a natural environment or (ii) a 360-degree VR video showing a group of multi-ethnic youths playing volleyball in the same environment. We hypothesized that the VR exposure to the group of multi-ethnic youths practicing a brief mindfulness session - compared to the VR exposure to the group of multi-ethnic youths involved in a volleyball play - could enhance restorativeness, which in turn is expected to increase global identity salience. Results: The results of the mediation analysis supported our hypothesis, showing that participants exposed to the mindfulness condition - compared to the participants exposed to the volleyball play condition - reported significantly higher restorativeness, which in turn led to an increase in global identity salience [point estimate = 0.12, SE = 0.08, 95% CI = (0.004, 0.317)]. Discussion: Findings shed light on the underlying processes involved in the exposure to a brief mindfulness session within a multi-ethnic group played in a virtual natural environment on global identity salience, emphasizing the mediating role of restorativeness. These results provide significant insights into the self-concept construction, which is critical in adolescence. Practical implications and future research directions are discussed.