Mindfulness, Social Provisions, and Adversarial Growth Among Divorced and Widowed Women in Pakistan

Authors

  • Laiba Akhtar MS Scholar, Department of Clinical Psychology, The Superior University, Lahore, Pakistan Author
  • Ayesha Ali MS Scholar, Department of Clinical Psychology , Superior University image/svg+xml Author
  • Dr. Ayesha Atta Associate Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology , Superior University image/svg+xml Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.68024/gja61312

Keywords:

mindfulness, social provisions, posttraumatic growth, adversarial growth

Abstract

The present study examined the contribution of dispositional mindfulness and perceived social provisions to adversarial growth, operationalized as posttraumatic growth, among divorced and widowed women in Pakistan. A quantitative cross-sectional correlational design was used. The study included 253 women (mean age = 44.79 years, SD = 10.92) recruited through snowball sampling; 129 were widowed and 123 were divorced, with one case missing marital-status data. Participants completed the Five facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, the 24-item Social Provisions Scale, and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Reliability was acceptable to good across the measures. Posttraumatic growth correlated positively with Observing (r = .34) and Nonreactivity (r = .41), and negatively with Acting with Awareness (r = -.39) and Nonjudging (r = -.38). In a three-step hierarchical regression (N = 247), demographic variables explained little variance (R² = .018). Adding mindfulness facets increased explained variance by 25.6%, and adding social provisions contributed a further 1.3%. In the final model, Nonreactivity (β = .22), Acting with Awareness (β = -.21), educational qualification (β = .14), and social provisions (β = .12) were significant unique predictors; the model explained 28.8% of the variance in growth. Findings suggest that specific mindfulness facets and relational resources make distinct contributions to positive psychological change after marital loss, while also underscoring the need for culturally sensitive interpretation of mindfulness scores.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Abbas, J., Aqeel, M., Abbas, J., Shaher, B., Jaffar, A., Sundas, J., & Zhang, W. (2019). The moderating role of social support for marital adjustment, depression, anxiety, and stress: Evidence from Pakistani working and nonworking women. Journal of Affective Disorders, 244, 231-238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2018.07.071

Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Hopkins, J., Krietemeyer, J., & Toney, L. (2006). Using self-report assessment methods to explore facets of mindfulness. Assessment, 13(1), 27-45. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191105283504

Baer, R. A., Smith, G. T., Lykins, E., Button, D., Krietemeyer, J., Sauer, S., Walsh, E., Duggan, D., & Williams, J. M. G. (2008). Construct validity of the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire in meditating and nonmeditating samples. Assessment, 15(3), 329-342. https://doi.org/10.1177/1073191107313003

Brown, K. W., & Ryan, R. M. (2003). The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(4), 822-848. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.84.4.822

Cohen, S., & Wills, T. A. (1985). Stress, social support, and the buffering hypothesis. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 310-357. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.310

Cutrona, C. E., & Russell, D. W. (1987). The provisions of social relationships and adaptation to stress. In W. H. Jones & D. Perlman (Eds.), Advances in personal relationships (Vol. 1, pp. 37-67). JAI Press.

Garland, E. L., Gaylord, S. A., & Fredrickson, B. L. (2011). Positive reappraisal mediates the stress-reductive effects of mindfulness: An upward spiral process. Mindfulness, 2, 59-67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12671-011-0043-8

Holt-Lunstad, J. (2021). The major health implications of social connection. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 30(3), 251-259. https://doi.org/10.1177/0963721421999630

Keng, S.-L., Smoski, M. J., & Robins, C. J. (2011). Effects of mindfulness on psychological health: A review of empirical studies. Clinical Psychology Review, 31(6), 1041-1056. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2011.04.006

Khatib, A., Ben-David, V., Gelkopf, M., & Levine, S. Z. (2021). Ethnic group and social support contribution to posttraumatic growth after sudden spousal loss among Jewish, Muslim, and Druze widows in Israel. Journal of Community Psychology, 49(5), 1010-1023. https://doi.org/10.1002/jcop.22565

Kokou-Kpolou, C. K., Adansikou, K., Park, S., Hajizadeh, S., Iorfa, S. K., & Cénat, J. M. (2022). Prolonged grief and posttraumatic growth among middle-aged and older widowed persons: A latent class analysis and testing for the role of social support. Death Studies, 46(6), 1401-1413. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481187.2021.1978115

Lindsay, E. K., & Creswell, J. D. (2017). Mechanisms of mindfulness training: Monitor and Acceptance Theory (MAT). Clinical Psychology Review, 51, 48-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpr.2016.10.011

Ning, J., Tang, X., Shi, H., Yao, D., Zhao, Z., & Li, J. (2023). Social support and posttraumatic growth: A meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 320, 117-132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2022.09.114

Qadir, F., Khalid, A., Haqqani, S., Zill-e-Huma, & Medhin, G. (2013). The association of marital relationship and perceived social support with mental health of women in Pakistan. BMC Public Health, 13, 1150. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-13-1150

Rubab, K., Alam, A., Shah, I., Elahi, N., & Khan, H. (2023). Gender-based adjustment problems of divorcees in Hazara Division, Pakistan. PLOS ONE, 18(11), e0295068. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0295068

St Laurent, J., Limond, J., & Karl, A. (2026). The effect of mindfulness and acceptance on perceived post-traumatic growth: A systematic review and meta-analysis. European Journal of Trauma & Dissociation, 10(3), 100715. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ejtd.2026.100715

Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (1996). The Posttraumatic Growth Inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9(3), 455-471. https://doi.org/10.1002/jts.2490090305

Tedeschi, R. G., & Calhoun, L. G. (2004). Posttraumatic growth: Conceptual foundations and empirical evidence. Psychological Inquiry, 15(1), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15327965PLI1501_01

Weiss, R. S. (1974). The provisions of social relationships. In Z. Rubin (Ed.), Doing unto others (pp. 17-26). Prentice-Hall.

Downloads

Published

2026-09-30

How to Cite

Laiba Akhtar, Ayesha Ali, & Dr. Ayesha Atta. (2026). Mindfulness, Social Provisions, and Adversarial Growth Among Divorced and Widowed Women in Pakistan. Scholar Insight Journal, 4(3), 177-194. https://doi.org/10.68024/gja61312

Similar Articles

1-10 of 58

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.