Remote delivery of a Koru Mindfulness intervention for college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Changes in State Mindfulness are the Key to Success in Mindfulness Interventions: Ecological Momentary Assessments of Predictors, Mediators, and Outcomes in a Four-Week Koru Mindfulness Intervention

It is often assumed that changes in state mindfulness coupled with a decrease in intrusive thinking (e.g., rumination or worry) are the crucial ingredients in mindfulness interventions. We investigate this claim by examining within-person day-to-day changes and causal relationships among these changes in state measures of mindfulness, cognitive interference (a measure of intrusive thinking), depression, well-being, stress, sleep, physical activity, and quality of formal and informal mindfulness practice in a four-week randomized controlled mindfulness intervention with a sample of college students using the Koru mindfulness program; n = 55 for intervention, n = 57 for control; mean age = 21.4). The intervention was effective in improving day-to-day state mindfulness, cognitive interference, and sleep (the effects on all three were linear), but the effects on physical activity, depression, and well-being were not significant. Day-to-day mindfulness (the independent variable) was a predictor of change in daily cognitive interference (the mediating variable), which in turn predicted depression and well-being (dependent variables). The beneficial effects of state mindfulness were demonstrable over a lag of four days, suggesting it is indeed a key ingredient in the effectiveness of mindfulness interventions. Physical activity, sleep, and practice quality did not mediate any effects. One clear implication is that maintaining or restoring high levels of mindfulness, for instance by engaging in meditation or in more informal mindfulness exercises, would be of obvious and direct benefit to mental health and well-being.

Mindfulness training is associated with improved quality of life in female collegiate athletes

OBJECTIVE

To examine the effects of a mindfulness intervention on health-related quality of life in female Division I collegiate athletes.

PARTICIPANTS

135 female collegiate athletes, ages 18 - 23 years.

METHODS

Health related quality of life (HRQoL) was reported twice/year in approximately January and July from January 2017 to 2020 with the 12-question Veterans Rand survey (VR-12). Twenty-three of the participants received a 6-week, in-person, group mindfulness training in spring 2019, while 112 did not.

RESULTS

A significant interaction between time and mindfulness was identified with respect to the mental component score of the VR-12 of the VR-12 (MCS; β = 3.86 ± 1 .56, p = 0.012) but no significant relationships were identified with respect to time (pre-mindfulness: β = -2.36 ± 1.38, p = 0.074), mindfulness (yes: β = -2.26 ± 1.54, p = 0.14) or season (winter: β = -0.84 ± 0.57, p = 0.14). With respect to the physical component score (PCS), no significant relationships were identified with respect to time (pre-mindfulness: β = -1.09 ± 1.21, p = 0.37), mindfulness (yes: β = 1.30 ± 1.31, p = 0.32), season (winter: β = 0.50 ± 0.50, p = 0.32), or the interaction between time and mindfulness (β = 0.35 ± 1 .36, p = 0.80).

CONCLUSIONS

Among female collegiate athletes, mindfulness training is associated with significant improvements in mental HRQoL, but not physical HRQoL.

Effectiveness of Daily Mindfulness Meditation App Usage to Reduce Anxiety and Improve Well-Being During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction This study examined the effect of 10-minute daily meditation app usage for 30 days on adult anxiety and mental well-being during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods Participants were randomized into intervention (10 minutes of daily usage of the Insight Timer app) or control groups. Participants completed surveys to assess anxiety and well-being pre- and post-study. Data were analyzed using t-tests, analysis of variance (ANOVA), or nonparametric equivalents. Results Pre-study results were comparable between groups. The pre- vs. post-study General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scores for anxiety decreased in the intervention group (n=18, median 5.5 vs. 3.0 (pre vs. post), p=0.0233, d=0.50), but not in the control group (n=28). The intervention group had a lower median GAD-7 score than the control group post-study (3.0 vs. 8.0, p=0.0223, d=0.35). Pre- vs. post-study mean 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) scores were improved in both the control (11.6 vs. 12.9 (pre vs. post), p=0.0408, d=0.36) and intervention groups (12.0 vs. 16.3 (pre vs. post), p=0.0001, d=0.77), although it was higher in the intervention group (16.3 vs. 12.9, p=0.0056, d=0.88). Conclusion Ten minutes of daily meditation app usage for 30 days may reduce anxiety and improve well-being in adults during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The impact of a mindfulness-based stress reduction program on university students' mental health: A mixed-methods evaluation

Objective: To evaluate an eight-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program's impact on university students' mental health. Participants: Undergraduate and graduate students. Methods: Ninety participants completed pre-, mid-, and post-program surveys. Mindfulness, Satisfaction with Life, Psychological Distress, and Perceived Stress scores were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and pairwise comparisons. Additionally, 115 participants completed post-survey open-ended responses addressing their subjective experiences, which were thematically examined. Results: Participants showed significant improvements in all outcome measures from pre- to post- [p < 0.001] and mid- to post-program [p < 0.05]. All measures, except Satisfaction with Life, showed significant improvement from pre- to mid-program. Participants reported high program satisfaction. Facilitators of the participants' practice included program structure, perception of outcomes, and group setting; however, busy schedules posed a prominent barrier. Conclusion: This evaluation supports MBSR as a public health, group-based approach to improving students' mental health and building a more positive campus community.

Dismantling the Component-Specific Effects of Yogic Breathing: Feasibility of a Fully Remote Three-Arm RCT with Virtual Laboratory Visits and Wearable Physiology

Despite the growing research base examining the benefits and physiological mechanisms of slow-paced breathing (SPB), mindfulness (M), and their combination (as yogic breathing, SPB + M), no studies have directly compared these in a "dismantling" framework. To address this gap, we conducted a fully remote three-armed feasibility study with wearable devices and video-based laboratory visits. Eighteen healthy participants (age 18-30 years, 12 female) were randomized to one of three 8-week interventions: slow-paced breathing (SPB, N = 5), mindfulness (M, N = 6), or yogic breathing (SPB + M, N = 7). The participants began a 24-h heart rate recording with a chest-worn device prior to the first virtual laboratory visit, consisting of a 60-min intervention-specific training with guided practice and experimental stress induction using a Stroop test. The participants were then instructed to repeat their assigned intervention practice daily with a guided audio, while concurrently recording their heart rate data and completing a detailed practice log. The feasibility was determined using the rates of overall study completion (100%), daily practice adherence (73%), and the rate of fully analyzable data from virtual laboratory visits (92%). These results demonstrate feasibility for conducting larger trial studies with a similar fully remote framework, enhancing the ecological validity and sample size that could be possible with such research designs.

Psychological health benefits of focusing on the 'here and now' versus a limited future during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: College students' psychological health has been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic (e.g., 1). We investigated whether students' psychological health was related to their orientation toward the future and mindfulness while considering previously-identified correlates of psychological health such as perceived risks of COVID-19. Participants: Participants were 278 college students at a mid-Atlantic US university in November and December 2020. Method: Using a self-report survey, we measured three aspects of psychological health (depression, anxiety, and stress) and future orientation, mindfulness, perceptions of risk, and the personal impact of COVID-19 on students' lives. Results: Multiple linear regression analyses showed that greater mindfulness and focusing less on a limited future were related to less depression, anxiety, and stress. Conclusions: Encouraging students to be mindful and focus on the present instead of focusing on a limited future may be beneficial for their psychological well-being during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Mindfulness and psychological distress in men during the COVID-19 pandemic: The mediating role of environmental mastery and purpose in life

Men's mental health has been severely affected during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many studies focussing on the determinants of men's psychological distress. This study aimed at examining the relationships between mindfulness, environmental mastery (EM), purpose in life (PL) and indicators of psychological distress (i.e., common mental disorders and perceived stress). This was a cross-sectional online study in which participants were 1,006 men aged between 29 and 39 years (45.1%), residing in Brazil during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. A parallel multiple mediator model was used to test the study variables' relationships, using mindfulness as the independent variable and indicators of psychological distress as the dependent variables. Results indicated that EM and PL significantly mediated the effects of mindfulness on men's psychological distress, lowering its levels and accounting for 31% of common mental disorders and 51% of perceived stress. Implications for public health policies and clinical practice are discussed.