This study examined the mediating effect of mindfulness on the relationship between emotional clarity and posttraumatic growth (PTG), and explored how this pathway may differ by gender. Emotional clarity, mindfulness, and PTG were measured at three different time points with two-week intervals to examine the temporal sequence of their associations. Data were collected from 294 young adults aged 19 to 34 (160 women, 134 men) who reported having experienced trauma. PROCESS macro Model 4 was used for the analysis. The results revealed a significant indirect effect of mindfulness in the relationship between emotional clarity and PTG for the total sample. However, the significance of these paths varied by gender. For men, emotional clarity had a significant direct effect on PTG, while the mediating effect of mindfulness was not significant. In contrast, for women, only indirect pathway through mindfulness was significant, indicating a full mediation. These findings suggest that while emotional clarity itself may play a central role in fostering PTG in men, the capacity for mindful, nonjudgmental acceptance is a critical mechanism for PTG in women. The present study empirically demonstrates gender differences in emotional processing pathways during trauma recovery and suggests the need for tailored intervention strategies in counseling and psychotherapy settings that take into account gender-specific characteristics such as emotional sensitivity, tendencies toward self-criticism, and coping strategies.
