The authors examined the effect of a 6-week mind/body intervention on college students' psychological distress, anxiety, and perception of stress. One hundred twenty-eight students were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n = 63) or a waitlist control group (n = 65). The experimental group received 6 90-minute group-training sessions in the relaxation response and cognitive behavioral skills. The Symptom Checklist-90-Revised, Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Perceived Stress Scale were used to assess the students' psychological state before and after the intervention. Ninety students (70% of the initial sample) completed the postassessment measure. Significantly greater reductions in psychological distress, state anxiety, and perceived stress were found in the experimental group. This brief mind/body training may be useful as a preventive intervention for college students, according to the authors, who called for further research to determine whether the observed treatment effect can be sustained over a longer period of time.
Academic and societal pressures result in U.S. high school students feeling stressed. Stress management and relaxation interventions may help students increase resiliency to stress and overall well‐being. The objectives of this study were to examine the feasibility (enrollment, participation and acceptability) and potential effectiveness (changes in perceived stress, anxiety, self‐esteem, health‐promoting behaviors, and locus of control) of a relaxation response (RR)‐based curriculum integrated into the school day for high school students. The curriculum included didactic instruction, relaxation exercises, positive psychology, and cognitive restructuring. The intervention group showed significantly greater improvements in levels of perceived stress, state anxiety, and health‐promoting behaviors when compared to the wait list control group. The intervention appeared most useful for girls in the intervention group. The results suggest that several modifications may increase the feasibility of using this potentially effective intervention in high schools.
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