Six-year positive effects of a mindfulness-based intervention on mindfulness, coping and well-being in medical and psychology students; Results from a randomized controlled trial

Abstract

Longitudinal research investigating the enduring impact of mindfulness training is scarce. This study investigates the six-year effects of a seven-week mindfulness-based course, by studying intervention effects in the trajectory of dispositional mindfulness and coping skills, and the association between those change trajectories and subjective well-being at six-year follow-up. 288 Norwegian medical and psychology students participated in a randomized controlled trial. 144 received a 15-hour mindfulness course over seven weeks in the second or third semester with booster sessions twice yearly, while the rest continued their normal study curricula. Outcomes were subjective well-being, and dispositional mindfulness and coping assessed using the Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire and the Ways of Coping Checklist. Analyses were performed for the intention-to-treat sample, using latent growth curve models. At six-year follow-up, students receiving mindfulness training reported increased well-being. Furthermore, they reported greater increases in the trajectory of dispositional mindfulness and problem-focused coping along with greater decreases in the trajectory of avoidance-focused coping. Increases in problem-focused coping predicted increases in well-being. These effects were found despite relatively low levels of adherence to formal mindfulness practice. The findings demonstrate the viability of mindfulness training in the promotion of well-being and adaptive coping, which could contribute to the quality of care given, and to the resilience and persistence of health care professionals.

Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov NCT00892138.

Fig 1. Flow diagram.

Fig 2. Line graphs depicting mean values and standard errors for each treatment sensitive variable at each measurement point.

Fig 3. Final latent growth curve model of the influence of a MBI on dispositional mindfulness, avoidance-focused coping and problem-focused coping in relation to well-being.

Note: Non-significant paths are not depicted. DM = Dispositional Mindfulness. AFC = Avoidance-Focused Coping. PFC = Problem-Focused Coping. The gray box in the top right corner of the well-being variable indicates the percentage of variance accounted for in well-being by the entire model. *p < .05, **p < .01, ***p < .001.