Mindfulness and subjective well-being in the sustainability movement: A further elaboration of multiple discrepancies theory

In a previous interpretation of multiple discrepancies theory (MDT), the au thors operationalized mutiple discrepancies as gaps between respondents' va lues and their performance. Using a sample of back-to-the-landers from the larger sustainability movement, the first-stage of the data analysis (Jacob and Brinkerhoff, 1997) confirmed that multiple discrepancies between value s and do have a significant impact on subjective well-being (SWB), but this initial analysis also demonstrated that there are intervening variables th at can act as compensating factors to attenuate the influence of multiple d iscrepancies on SWB. In this, the second-stage of data analysis, the author s identify and further explore the interaction of phenomena that might serv e as compensation variables in respondents' calculus of their SWB. The pres ent study identifies two salient compensating factors: mindfulness (a calm, yet focused, engagement with the present, similar to a meditative experien ce), and a sense of an absence of time constraints. Operationalized as Mind fulness and Time for Self scales, these two interrelated variables explain, in multiple regression equations, the major share of variation in multiple measures of SWB. Nevertheless, the multiple discrepancies between values a nd performance are still significant, if secondary, factors in explaining v ariance in SWB for the sample of back-to-the-landers.