The Effect of Meditation on Self-Reported Measures of Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Perfectionism in a College Population

Burns, Jaimie L.; Lee, Randolph M.; Brown, Lauren J.

doi:10.1080/87568225.2011.556947

Cited by 58 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…Sixth, the negative correlation in this sample between non-attachment and mental health disorders is consistent with other research (Burns et al, 2011;Coffey & Hartman, 2008;Dane, 2000;Sahdra et al, 2010;Sahdra & Shaver, 2013;Sahdra, Ciarrochi, Parker, Marshall, & Heaven, 2015;Sooksawat et al, 2013;Wang et al, 2016). This means that greater non-attachment is related to lower stress, anxiety, and depression; in this way, non-attachment can be a predictor of mental health.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

The Relationship Between Non-Attachment And Mental Health Among Vietnamese Buddhists

Nguyen¹,

Dang²,

Nguyễn³

2017

European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences

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Evidence shows that those who practice Buddhism have positive mental health. Such research, however, is nearly non-existent in Vietnam, a country with a long Buddhist tradition. What is the relationship between non-attachment and mental health (stress, anxiety, and depression) in Buddhists, and what is the most influential variable that affects the non-attachment and mental health of Buddhists? The purposes of this study are (1) to examine the relationship between non-attachment in Buddhism and several mental health components (stress, anxiety and depression), and (2) to explore, within the demographic and religious variables, the most influential variable that affects the non-attachment and mental health of Buddhists. The participants were 472 Buddhists (427 laypersons, 45 monks; 339 women and 130 men) from four sanghas located around Vietnam. Data were collected from January to April of 2016. Each participant underwent a battery of measures comprised of the Non-attachment Scale, the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress Scale (DASS-42), and a demographic questionnaire. A negative correlation was found between non-attachment and negative mental health components (stress, anxiety, and depression) within the sample group. Three variables -frequency of practicing dharma, belief in dharma, and change of mind since practicing dharma -were correlated with non-attachment and mental health. Frequency of practicing dharma and change of mind since practicing dharma were the best predictors of non-attachment and positive mental health. Results showed that practicing non-attachment improves mental health. Practicing Buddhism is strongly related to religious commitment, which helps individuals strengthen their beliefs in Buddhism and non-attachment, where they are free of external pressures and, hence, happier.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 74%

The Relationship Between Non-Attachment And Mental Health Among Vietnamese Buddhists

Nguyen¹,

Dang²,

Nguyễn³

2017

European Proceedings of Social and Behavioural Sciences

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“…Interesting examples of interventions provided at universities have been implemented in the past decade, among others in Connecticut, USA, where 43 students were taught to practice Transcendental Meditation (TM) over the course of two semesters and showed decline in self-reported stress, anxiety and perfectionistic thoughts (Burns, Lee, & Brown, 2011). A study by Gaab, Sonderegger, Scherrer and Ehlert (2006) successfully used Cognitive Based Stress Management (CBSM) techniques to reduce anxiety and somatic symptoms in economy students in Switzerland.…”

Section: Mental Health Interventions At Schoolsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Reducing Stress in Youth: A Pilot-Study on the Effects of a University-Based Intervention Program for University Students in Pune, India

Wit¹,

Bunders

Regeer³

2016

JEDP

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Mental health problems among youth have become important public health concern for many low & middleincome countries. As part of a research program to improve mental wellbeing in Pune, India, a university-based intervention was developed for students of two educational institutes. In one month, 33 students (age 18-22) participated in a series of 2-hour sessions in which they were stimulated to learn better coping skills to deal with stress and anxiety. The interactive sessions were facilitated by a psychologist and volunteers of a suicide prevention NGO. Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (REBT) approaches were used to help students identify stressors and find alternative thought patterns towards the stressor. Playful exercises, such as theatre, dance and poetry, were used to develop self-esteem, self-expression and a better sense of control in students. Throughout the program, relaxation methods, such as Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT), were practiced to help reduce stress in students. To study the impact of the intervention, data were collected, before-and after the intervention and in an eight month follow-up with the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), in combination with open questionnaires and field notes. Preliminary results show a significant decrease in average stress scores in students after the program in comparison to before the intervention (p-value is 0.044 < 0.05). Students reflect upon the program as helpful and specifically emphasize the role of poetry, dance & EFT as main contributors. In follow-up tests perceived stress scores remained lower than at base-line, although not significant. Booster sessions are suggested to sustain the benefits. Overall, the results of this pilot study show that low threshold, university-based interventions, could be useful in stimulating psychosocial well-being in youth.

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“…Studies on the effects of TM in college students on mindfulness (Aldahadha, 2013;Tanner et al, 2009), stress, anxiety (Dillbeck, 1977), and depression (Burns et al, 2011) show significant positive results. One longitudinal study examined the effect of practicing TM on nonverbal intelligence scores (Fergusson, Bonshek, & Masson, 1995) in Cambodian undergraduate students.…”

Section: Mindfulness Meditation and Tmmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In addition, anxiety may be greater due to the changing nature of college students' schedule. Research shows that distress can be decreased in college student populations through the practice of TM (Burns et al, 2011) and that significant differences in Brain Integration Scale scores (frontal coherence, alpha/beta absolute power ratios, timing/magnitude of brain preparatory responses) and sleepiness were seen after 10 weeks of TM practice (Travis et al, 2009). The Brain Integration Scale was created by Frederick Travis after results showed "changes in brain patterns during challenging cognitive tasks after the meditation session" (Travis et al, 2009).…”

Section: Mindfulness Meditation and Tmmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While meditation programs have been used for decades in clinical settings and are recognized for their effectiveness in reducing stress (Burns, Lee, & Brown, 2011;Dillbeck, 1977) and symptoms of depression (Brooks & Scarano, 1985;Rosenthal, 2011), meditation is emerging as a practice that improves academic performance (Kember, 1985;So & Orme-Johnson, 2001) and graduation rates (Colbert, 2013) when used in an academic setting. While studies suggest that meditation practice offers many potential benefits to students, it is necessary to first determine the levels of stress in community college students and the beliefs, knowledge, and attitudes towards meditation in the students to determine whether and the reasons why they would participate in meditation practices.…”

Section: Chapter Ii: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Stress and the beliefs of meditation among community college students

Wallentiny¹

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The purpose of this study was to assess stress levels in community college students and their beliefs of meditation. Community college students tend to report high levels of stress due to demographic factors, such low economic status, need to work at least part time, and need for remedial classes. Many of these demographic factors are particularly found in students above the age of 24, which are considered nontraditional students. Understanding stress levels and beliefs of meditation among students is necessary to determine if a meditation program such as Transcendental Meditation (TM) may work within a community college setting to reduce stress.The convenience sample consisted of 221 community college students enrolled in English composition courses at one large community college located on the east coast of the United States. The instrument used for data collection was a questionnaire, which included closed-and open-ended questions. Students completed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-14) and the Meditation Beliefs Questionnaire, which has two subscales, knowledge and perceptions of meditation. The study utilized descriptive statistics, analysis of variance procedures, and independent samples t-tests to determine differences between stress levels and beliefs of meditation, as well as differences in gender and age segment (i.e., traditional vs. nontraditional).While this study found no statistically significant differences among students' beliefs of meditation and stress levels by gender or by age segment, findings showed statistically significant results for students who reported high versus moderate stress levels regarding beliefs of meditation. Specifically, the high stress group had significantly more knowledge than the moderate stress group about the actual benefits of meditation. One practical implication of the research could be to develop an educational program introducing students to TM, which may reduce stress and improve academic performance. Ultimately, such a program may transform 4 the lives of community college students by improving graduation rates and by encouraging lifelong practices that have an impact on students' health and wellbeing.

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The Effect of Meditation on Self-Reported Measures of Stress, Anxiety, Depression, and Perfectionism in a College Population

Abstract: Journal of College Student PsychotherapyPublication details, including instructions for authors and subscription information:

Cited by 58 publications

References 26 publications

The Relationship Between Non-Attachment And Mental Health Among Vietnamese Buddhists

The Relationship Between Non-Attachment And Mental Health Among Vietnamese Buddhists

Reducing Stress in Youth: A Pilot-Study on the Effects of a University-Based Intervention Program for University Students in Pune, India

Stress and the beliefs of meditation among community college students

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