A mindfulness-based promotive coping program improves well-being in college undergraduates

6-Week student wellness program improves psychological wellbeing of students

Objective: Employing a waitlist control design, the current study examined the effectiveness of a shortened version of a newly developed wellness program. Participants/Methods: Twenty-four students were randomly assigned to an experimental wellness (EW) group or a waitlist control (WLC) group. The 6-week wellness program focused on specific wellness topics (i.e., relaxation and mindfulness, yoga, gratitude and self-compassion, emotion regulation, goal setting and time management, and nutrition and movement). Both mental health and wellbeing outcomes were examined pre-post group. Results/Conclusions: Findings revealed that the EW group reported significantly improved overall psychological wellbeing, optimism, self-compassion, and satisfaction with life following the program relative to baseline, but the WLC group did not.

Student wellness: Interest and program ideas & pilot of a student wellness program

Objective: To increase our knowledge related to student wellness programs, the current studies examined interest in wellness and wellness programs among university students and piloted a newly developed wellness program targeting students in higher education. Participants/Methods: In Study 1, 93 undergraduate students answered questions related to their wellness and mental health (e.g. psychological wellbeing, satisfaction with life, optimism, and stress) and to wellness programs (e.g. interest, barriers, duration, and topics). In Study 2, 13 undergraduate and graduate students participated in a 9-week pilot wellness program focused on specific wellness topics (e.g. relaxation, yoga, gratitude and self-compassion, and emotion regulation). Results/Conclusions: Study 1 results support a strong interest in wellness and wellness programs among undergraduate students. Study 2 results suggest that students who participated in an on-campus wellness program reported higher levels of overall psychological wellbeing and optimism and lower levels of mental health issues relative to baseline.

Early-childhood temperament moderates the prospective associations of coping with adolescent internalizing and externalizing symptoms

While appraisal and coping are known to impact adolescent psychopathology, more vulnerable or resilient responses to stress may depend on individual temperament. This study examined early life temperament as a moderator of the prospective relations of pre-adolescent appraisal and coping with adolescent psychopathology. The sample included 226 (62% female, 14–15 years) adolescents with assessments starting at 3 years of age. Adolescents were predominately White (12% Black 9% Asian, 11% Latinx, 4% Multiracial, and 65% White). Observed early-childhood temperament (fear, frustration, executive control, and delay ability) were tested as moderators of pre-adolescent coping (active and avoidant) and appraisal (threat, positive) on internalizing and externalizing symptoms during the pandemic. Interaction effects were tested using regression in R. Sex and family context of stress were covariates. Early-childhood temperament was correlated with pre-adolescent symptoms, however, pre-adolescent appraisal and coping but not temperament predicted adolescent psychopathology. Frustration moderated the relations of active and avoidant coping and positive appraisal to symptoms such that coping and appraisal related to lower symptoms only for those low in frustration. Executive control moderated the associations of avoidant coping with symptoms such that avoidance reduced the likelihood of symptoms for youth low in executive control. Findings underscore the role of emotionality and self-regulation in youth adjustment, with the impact of coping differing with temperament. These findings suggest that equipping youth with a flexible assortment of coping skills may serve to reduce negative mental health outcomes.

NoiBene, a Group Intervention for Promoting Mental Health Among University Students: A Study Protocol for a Randomized Controlled Trial

University students’ mental health has become a public health issue since increasingly students report high levels of psychological distress. Mental health difficulties influence students’ lives, such as academic performance, relationships satisfaction, and quality of life. Moreover, different kinds of obstacles often hinder help-seeking behavior. Such evidence strongly suggests the need to implement prevention and promotion strategies to increase health and well-being in educational contexts. This article presents a study protocol for implementing and evaluating NoiBene, an evidence-based group intervention that aims to promote mental health and well-being, improve a series of transversal competencies (e.g., emotional awareness, commitment to values, assertiveness, goal setting), and decrease dysfunctional transdiagnostic mechanisms (i.e., perfectionism, repetitive thinking, experiential avoidance). A randomized controlled trial will be conducted to evaluate the protocol’s efficacy. Participants will be assigned to one of the three conditions: the NoiBene Group condition (NB-G), the NoiBene guided web-based condition (NB-WB), or the waiting list condition (WLC). The NB-G intervention consists of six face-to-face group meetings, each dedicated to specific issues related to well-being or vulnerabilities. Every meeting includes an explanation of the theoretical contents, individual and group exercises, and role-plays. The NB-WB intervention covers the same topic addressed in the NB-G intervention. In this case, participants carry out a series of online modules, including theoretical explanations, practical exercises, useful activities, and self-monitoring tools. Students will individually meet the Tutor once every 2 weeks. The primary outcome will include an increase in mental health and well-being. Secondary outcomes will include changes in emotional awareness, assertiveness, perfectionism, rumination, worry, self-criticism, experiential avoidance, and academic performance and satisfaction. We expect that participants in both NoiBene conditions will show these outcomes. However, we hypothesized that the NB-G conditions will be more effective than the NB-WB in improving assertiveness. Besides treatment efficacy, we expect that students can benefit from the NB-G or NB-WB differently based on their specific behavioral and motivational patterns. Outcomes will be assessed at pre-, post-intervention and 6-months follow-up. In conclusion, we believe that NoiBene is a promising tool that can improve students’ well-being, and it could have positive implications for preventing mental health disorders among students.

College Life Adjustment, Life Stress, Career Barriers, and Career Decision-Making Self-Efficacy of College Students Who Have Experienced COVID-19 in South Korea

University life is challenging for students, given the college life adjustment, life stress, career barriers, and career decision-making self-efficacy required. COVID-19 has made this even more complex. This study investigated the relationships among these factors in college students who experienced COVID-19. Data were collected using an online cross-sectional structured survey of 1242 university students from December 2020 to January 2021. Data were analyzed via independent-sample t-tests, one-way ANOVAs, Pearson’s correlation coefficient, multiple regression, and logistic regression, using SPSS. College life adjustment was significantly correlated with life stress (r = −0.255, p < 0.001), career barriers (r = −0.429, p < 0.001), and career decision-making self-efficacy (r = 0.531, p < 0.001). The regression analysis showed that career barriers, career decision-making self-efficacy, and grade level had a total explanatory power of 33.7% for college life adaptation. The logistic regression analysis showed that the odds ratio (OR) of career barriers being low in the group with a high college life adaptation score was 2.045 (p < 0.001), and the OR of career decision-making self-efficacy being high was 4.107 (p < 0.001), as compared to the group with a low score. To increase college students’ adaptation to college life, career support programs that improve career barriers and career decision-making self-efficacy should be developed.

Using meditation in a control vs. acceptance context: A preliminary evaluation of relations with anxiety, depression, and indices of well-being

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Meditation practices have been marketed broadly to ameliorate human suffering. As such, individuals may seek out and use meditation to control or manage unpleasant thoughts and emotions. Emotion and thought control research suggest that meditation used in this way may potentiate unpleasant private experiences and contribute to negative outcomes. We aimed to evaluate the function or purpose guiding meditation and its relations with anxiety, depression, and other indices of well-being.

DESIGN AND METHODS

In a cross-sectional design, undergraduate meditators (N = 98) reported intentions guiding their meditation practice (i.e., experiential/emotional control or acceptance/openness) and completed an assessment battery.

RESULTS

Most participants (58.2%) indicated using meditation to manage, control, or avoid difficult experiences. Participants using meditation with control-based intentions reported greater worry, anxiety, depression, negative affect, and lower mindfulness relative to their acceptance-guided counterparts. After controlling for level of anxiety, viewing anxiety as a problem increased the likelihood of using meditation with control-based intentions. Similar relations were observed between viewing stress as a problem and the likelihood of using meditation for experiential control.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings suggest that (a) how people meditate is significantly related to psychological distress and (b) highlight the importance of evaluating intentions guiding meditative practices, particularly in individuals struggling with unpleasant emotional or psychological experiences.

Mindfulness-based positive psychology interventions: a systematic review

Background

There are hundreds of mindfulness-based interventions in the form of structured and unstructured therapies, trainings, and meditation programs, mostly utilized in a clinical rather than a well-being perspective. The number of empirical studies on positive potentials of mindfulness is comparatively less, and their known status in academia is ambiguous. Hence, the current paper aimed to review the studies where mindfulness-based interventions had integrated positive psychology variables, in order to produce positive functioning.

Methods

Data were obtained from the databases of PubMed, Scopus, and PsycNet and manual search in Google Scholar. From the 3831 articles, irrelevant or inaccessible studies were eliminated, reducing the number of final articles chosen for review to 21. Interventions that contribute to enhancement of eudaimonia, hedonia, and other positive variables are discussed.

Results

Findings include the potential positive qualities of MBIs in producing specific positive outcomes within limited circumstances, and ascendancy of hedonia and other positive variables over eudaimonic enhancement.

Conclusion

In conclusion, exigency of modifications in the existing MBIs to bring about exclusively positive outcomes was identified, and observed the necessity of novel interventions for eudaimonic enhancement and elevation of hedonia in a comprehensive manner.