SynthesisFrontiers in psychology2026
Does mindfulness mediate the relationship between anxiety and second language performance? A meta-analytic structural equation modeling study.
Synthesis in Frontiers in psychology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Background and aims: Anxiety is a well-established affective factor that impairs second language (L2) learning, whereas mindfulness may alleviate anxiety and enhance cognitive processing. However, whether mindfulness serves as a mechanism linking anxiety to L2 performance remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the mediating role of mindfulness in the relationship between anxiety and L2 performance. Methods: A systematic review was conducted for studies published up to April 2026. Data were extracted from observational studies (Pearson's correlations) and from baseline scores of intervention studies. Random-effects univariate meta-analyses were performed for each bivariate relation, and meta-analytic structural equation modeling (MASEM) was applied to test the mediation model. Moderator analyses were conducted using subgroup comparisons. Results: The meta-analysis included 13 studies (17 effect sizes) for the anxiety-mindfulness relation, 11 studies (14 effect sizes) for mindfulness-L2 performance, and 35 studies (41 effect sizes) for anxiety-L2 performance. Univariate meta-analyses showed that anxiety was negatively correlated with mindfulness [ Conclusions: Mindfulness partially mediates the anxiety-L2 performance relationship, although the indirect effect is very small (β = -0.03). Anxiety is directly associated with lower L2 performance and also indirectly related to it via reduced mindfulness. Because this estimate was derived from pooled correlations across studies, it reflects an aggregate mediation pattern rather than a direct within-sample observation, and thus warrants cautious interpretation. Future research should explore additional mechanisms and use longitudinal designs to establish causality. Systematic review registration: https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/view/CRD420261377122, identifier: CRD420261377122.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.