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. 2023 Oct 13;17(1):32.
doi: 10.1186/s13033-023-00604-8.

A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness: effects on university students' mental health

Giovana Gonçalves Gallo  1 , Daniela Fernandez Curado  2 , Mayra Pires Alves Machado  2 , Marília Ignácio Espíndola  2 , Vitor Villar Scattone  2 , Ana Regina Noto  2
Affiliations

A randomized controlled trial of mindfulness: effects on university students' mental health

Giovana Gonçalves Gallo et al. Int J Ment Health Syst. .

Abstract

Background: The development of mental health disorders is common in the university population, and mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) seem to be effective in addressing them in different contexts. Thus, this study investigated the impact of an 8-week MBI adapted to university students from the Mindfulness-Based Relapse Prevention (MBSR) on different symptoms related to mental health problems, specifically symptoms of anxiety, depression, stress and insomnia.

Methods: University students (n = 136) were randomized into MBI group (n = 71) or wait-list group (n = 65). All participants completed self-administered questionnaires before and after the intervention, and the experimental group answered questionnaires weekly during intervention. Generalized mixed models were used to assess the effects of the intervention.

Results: There were improvements in the symptoms of stress (B = 5.76, p < 0.001), depression (B = 1.55, p < 0.01) and insomnia (B = 1.35, p = 0.020) from the beginning of the intervention to the final assessment when it was compared to the control group. No effect was found in respect of trait anxiety. The MBI was found to be effective in reducing important symptoms related to university students' mental health, possibly grounding further research on the intervention's potential of preventing the development of mental disorders.

Trial registration: The research was registered in the Brazilian Registry of Clinical Trials (ReBEC) - number RBR-63qsqx, approved at 09/16/2019.

Keywords: Anxiety; Depression; Insomnia; Intervention; Stress.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Flowchart of research participants
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Progression of the average scores of PHQ-9 for depression, PSS-10 for stress, and ISI for insomnia, for students undertaking weekly mindfulness sessions
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Histograms of weekly depression (measured by PHQ-9), stress (measured by PSS-10) and insomnia (measured by ISI) scores distribution of intervention group
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Effect of the MBI on stress (measured by PSS-19), anxiety (measured by STAI-trait), depression (measured by PHQ-9) and insomnia (measured by ISI) over time. Outcome values averaged over the levels of covariates are presented
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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