Short mindfulness-based intervention for psychological and academic outcomes among university students

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a short mindfulness intervention on anxiety, stress and depression symptoms, as well as on inhibition of dominant responses and academic performance among university students. Fifty volunteers (M(age) = 23.8; SD = 5.3) with high levels of depression, anxiety or stress were randomly allocated to a mindfulness practice group or an active control group (listening to stories). Students who underwent the mindfulness practice had decreased levels of anxiety, stress and depression compared to the control group. The mindfulness program also had a beneficial impact on the students’ academic performance. There was no change in the ability to inhibit dominant responses to neutral stimuli (letters); however, we observed a change in responses to neutral faces. Further research perspectives and the clinical implications of the study are discussed.

Mindfulness to improve the mental health of university students. A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In this systematic review, selected articles corresponding to randomized controlled clinical trials published in English in the last decade were included, with the following distribution of years: 2013 ( 35 ), 2014 ( 37 , 39 , 47 ), 2016 ( 30 , 39 ), 2017 ( 38 , 40 ), 2018 ( 31 ), 2020 ( 32 , 43 , 45 ), 2021 ( 36 , 44 , 46 , 48 , 49 ), 2022 ( 33 , 42 ), and 2023 ( 24 , 34 ). The countries of origin of the articles include Spain with four articles ( 32 , 34 , 47 , 49 ), three articles from the USA ( 37 , 42 , 43 ), two from China ( 44 , 46 ), two from Canada ( 45 , 48 ), and one from each of the following countries: Taiwan ( 30 ), Australia ( 31 ), the United Kingdom ( 24 ), Switzerland ( 33 ), Norway ( 35 ), Brazil ( 36 ), Singapore ( 38 ), Germany ( 39 ), Netherlands ( 40 ), and South Korea ( 41 ).…”

“…In particular, significant results ( p < 0.01) were observed on stress management, which was the most frequently evaluated variable. These results were mainly obtained using the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) ( 33 , 36 , 37 , 42 , 43 , 48 , 49 ). Only one study using this measurement tool did not obtain significant results (F = 5.38, p = 0.021) ( 35 ).…”

An analysis of the role of college students' core self-evaluation in the relationship between extracurricular physical exercise and academic stress

“…The role of regulation is more important in studies of emotional stabilization. It has been pointed out that different sports programs can make obvious differences in emotional stability, and sports can play an obvious role in the regulation of negative emotions and keep themselves in a positive and optimistic state of mind (Vorontsova-Wenger et al, 2022 ); at the same time, students with a high core self-evaluation tend to have more positive emotion regulation strategies, such as emotional expression, emotional confession, etc., which can help to alleviate negative emotions, and this positive mechanism of emotion regulation helps individuals to better cope with academic stress, reduce anxiety and worry about academics, and show lower levels of academic stress and academic burnout. In addition, students' core self-evaluation belongs to the individual's high-level personality factors, the level of self-evaluation will be affected by a variety of environmental factors in the school, and the influence of the formation of the physical exercise environment is not limited to the level of self-esteem, self-efficacy, emotional stability, and sources of psychological control, but also need to be combined with other factors to explore the deeper interrelationships.…”

Challenge-obstacle stressors and cyberloafing among higher vocational education students: the moderating role of smartphone addiction and Maladaptive

“…Thus, challenging and hindering stressors influence learning, affecting the level of development of professional competences during studies ( Lizarte, 2021 ; Lizarte and Gijón, 2022a ). From a general perspective, stress has an adaptive and mainly psychological character that can manifest itself in an imbalance that results in the development of coping or discarding actions in the face of academic demands ( Vorontsova et al, 2022 ), regardless of whether the learning takes place in the classroom or during internships ( Gijón, 2020 ). If stress is severe and prolonged in students, it can reduce academic performance, decrease academic and social integration and may even increase the likelihood of dropping out of school ( Amanvermez et al, 2022 ; Ang et al, 2022 ; Lizarte and Gijón, 2022a ).…”