ORIGINAL PAPER Mindfulness and Self-esteem: A Systematic Review Chloe Randal 1 & Daniel Pratt 1 & Sandra Bucci 1 Published online: 9 April 2015 # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2015 Abstract This main aim of this review was to synthesise and critically appraise studies investigating (i) the association be- tween mindfulness and self-esteem, and (ii) the impact of mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) on self-esteem. A further aim was to identify priorities for future research. A systematic review was conducted using electronic databases, resulting in 32 studies meeting the inclusion criteria. Fifteen studies explored the association between dispositional mind- fulness and self-esteem, and 17 studies investigated change in self-esteem following a MBI. Cross-sectional studies found significant positive correlations between dispositional mind- fulness and self-esteem, whilst the majority of MBI studies resulted in significant increases in self-esteem. Studies were quality-assessed which highlighted that these findings should be interpreted with caution due to methodological weak- nesses. More robust research is needed to corroborate these findings and to investigate the impact of mindfulness as an intervention for low self-esteem. Keywords Mindfulness . Self-esteem . Systematic review Introduction Over the years, there have been a number of definitions of self-esteem, making it a difficult concept to operationalise (Mruk 2006). Self-esteem was originally defined as a unidimensional construct, referring to a person’ s sense of competence (James, 1890/1983) or worth (Rosenberg 1965). Researchers have since described self-esteem as multidimen- sional, defining it as the evaluation that an individual makes regarding him or herself, and reflects one’ s sense of individual competence and personal worth in dealing with life challenges (Mruk 2006; Branden 1969). Self-esteem is often described as an attitude that an individual has towards oneself (Coopersmith 1967; Rosenberg 1965). Leary et al. (1995) distinguished between trait and state self-esteem. Trait self- esteem is described as an individual’ s average level of self- esteem over time and situations, as opposed to state self-es- teem, which refers to the fluctuations in self-esteem through- out an individual’ s daily life. The correlational and experimental literatures are generally consistent with the notion that self-esteem functions to buffer negative emotions, such as anxiety (Greenberg et al. 1992), and enhance personal adjustment (Leary et al. 1995). Indeed, the correlational literature consistently demonstrates positive associations between self-esteem and various indices of psy- chological well-being, and negative associations between self- esteem and anxiety-related difficulties more specifically (Greenberg et al. 1992). Furthermore, the experimental litera- ture (involving the direct manipulation of self-esteem) exam- ining threats to self-esteem is also consistent with this idea, with some studies demonstrating a causal relationship be- tween self-esteem and negative emotions such as anxiety (Greenberg et al. 1992). Researchers have hypothesised a number of reasons for this, including self-esteem being asso- ciated with confidence and high expectations of success, in- creased optimism and reduced anxiety (Leary et al. 1995). Others have suggested that high self-esteem promotes goal achievement and helps people to persist when faced with chal- lenges (e.g. Bandura 1977). High self-esteem has been shown to promote physical health (Taylor and Brown 1988) and * Sandra Bucci sandra.bucci@manchester.ac.uk 1 School of Psychological Sciences, University of Manchester, 2nd Floor Zochonis Building, Brunswick Street, Manchester M13 9PL, UK Mindfulness (2015) 6:1366–1378 DOI 10.1007/s12671-015-0407-6