Don’t Forget to be Mindful!
Anxiety may be defined as the sensation that one experiences when she/he is faced with long-term or excessive stress, and is thought to be the most commonly diagnosed mental health condition found among college students. In fact, student reports of anxiety have nearly doubled over the last 15 years! This is a significant issue, as high levels of anxiety may impair memory, affect study habits and worsen one’s physical and mental health. For some students, the effects of anxiety may be so severe that they fail their courses.
One way to effectively reduce anxiety is through the use of mindfulness meditation. This form of meditation is focused on self-regulation, and is meant to boost one’s control of their attention, awareness, non-reactivity and non-judgmental thoughts. Mindfulness-based interventions are well researched in psychology, although their roots may be found in Buddhist traditions. Here, mindfulness is described as “paying attention on purpose”, or, in other words, to direct one’s consciousness to their thoughts, feelings and actions.
Research has consistently revealed that those who practice mindfulness tend to report lower levels of anxiety. However, most research on this topic has focused primarily on youth or adult populations. Among the few studies that have observed the beneficial effects of mindfulness interventions on student anxiety, there have been issues with potential moderators and effect sizes. Thus, the aim of this meta-analysis was to examine the utility of mindfulness-based interventions in relieving college students’ anxiety while carefully taking into account such factors. More specifically, the researchers examined whether the effects of mindfulness vary as a function of participant characteristics, number and length of each session, and whether the individual engages in other forms of therapy/training.
The current meta-analysis searched through electronic databases, selected journals, and unpublished literature. To be included in the current meta-analysis, studies must have used mindfulness-based interventions with college students and measured anxiety as an outcome. Moreover, anxiety must have been examined in its natural state rather than artificially induced. Both undergraduate and graduate students, as well as clinical (diagnosed with an anxiety disorder) and nonclinical samples were included. The researchers included both primary studies with two-group comparisons (mindfulness-based interventions vs. controls) and single pre- test/post-test analyses. In the end, the researchers gathered 25 primary studies that met the required criteria with a total of 1492 participants.
When pooling together the results of the available studies, it was found that mindfulness-based interventions significantly decreased college students’ anxiety in both primary and pre-test/post-test comparisons. With regards to the possible influence of moderator variables, study and participant characteristics (e.g. country, gender, etc.) did not influence the alleviating effects of mindfulness therapy on students’ anxiety. Considering the number and length of meditation sessions, it was found that individuals experienced noteworthy reductions in anxiety following a greater number of sessions (e.g., 8 or more). However, the length of the meditation session was not found to be a significant factor. Interestingly, undergraduate students were more likely than graduate students to benefit from such interventions, although this may be because undergraduate students report higher and more destructive levels of stress and anxiety. However, it may also have been due to the sample size, as there were far more undergraduate students included in the analysis.
Such findings have many important implications for both research and practice. For example, the results could facilitate the development of future interventions that are specifically designed for college students. Such future programs ought to emphasize flexibility and encourage participation, as students may greatly benefit from mindfulness meditation.
Source:
Bamber, M. D., & Morpeth, E. (2018). Effects of mindfulness meditation on college student anxiety: A meta- analysis. Mindfulness, 1-12. https://doi-org.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/10.1007/s12671-018-0965-5
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