Brief mindfulness-based training and mindfulness trait attenuate psychological stress in university students: a randomized controlled trial

Summary

Higher trait mindfulness is linked to lower anxiety and perceived stress in university students. A brief mindfulness training reduced anxiety state and perceived stress and increased state mindfulness, while both mindfulness and active control groups showed reduced negative affect and cortisol. Changes in state mindfulness mediated increases in positive affect and decreases in perceived stress and cortisol regardless of trait mindfulness, but anxiety reduction occurred only in those with high trait mindfulness. The results suggest that brief mindfulness interventions can help reduce psychological distress in healthy young students.

Study at a glance

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Psychological distress in University settings has grown and became a public health concern. In this context, contemplative practices such as mindfulness have been proposed as a strategy to help students on stress management. METHODS: Forty university students (20 female), aged between 18 to 30 years (mean = 24.15; SD = 3.56), with no previous experience with meditation or yoga were recruited at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte and randomized to a mindfulness training (MT) or active control (AC) groups. We analyzed measures of anxiety, affect, stress, as well as state and trait mindfulness in order to evaluate the effects of trait mindfulness and a brief mindfulness intervention in forty healthy young students. Participants were classified as Low (n = 27, females = 13) or High (n = 13, females = 7) Trait Mindfulness by k-means clustering and compared between them using Wilcoxon sum rank test. Furthermore, the sample was randomly allocated to an AC (n = 20, females = 10) or a MT (n = 20, females = 10) group, and mixed analysis of variance was performed to analyze the effect of interventions. The mechanisms and role of trait mindfulness in the intervention was assessed by a moderated mediation analysis. RESULTS: We found that High Trait individuals have lower anxiety trait, anxiety state and perceived stress levels. Only the MT group reduced their anxiety state and perceived stress after the intervention and increased their state mindfulness. Both groups reduced negative affect and cortisol, and no change was found in positive affect. Moderated mediation analysis showed that the training-induced change in state mindfulness mediated the increase in positive affect and the decrease in perceived stress and cortisol, regardless of trait mindfulness. For anxiety state the decrease only occurred in individuals with High Trait Mindfulness. CONCLUSIONS: Together, these results suggest that higher trait mindfulness is associated with low levels of psychological distress and that a brief mindfulness-based intervention seems to be useful to reduce distress measures in university students. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ReBEC, U1111-1194-8661. Registered 28 March 2017-Retrospectively registered, http://www.ensaiosclinicos.gov.br/rg/RBR-7b8yh8.