Evaluating Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Self-Help Books for College Student Mental Health

Abstract

Objectives: Self-help has the potential to improve access to mental health resources for college students. However, solutions are needed to improve sustainable delivery, cost-effectiveness, and to know which resources are most useful. Methods: A sample of 109 college students were randomly assigned to read either an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) or Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) self-help book through the University library website over 8 weeks with assessments at baseline, midtreatment (4-weeks), and posttreatment (8-weeks). Results: The majority of participants reported reading over half of their assigned book and high satisfaction ratings were given for both books. Both conditions demonstrated equivalent medium to large effect sizes for improvements over time on outcomes (psychological distress, positive mental health, academic distress) and processes of change (psychological inflexibility, mindfulness, cognitive fusion). However, the ACT condition produced improvements on obstruction with valued action more quickly than MBSR. Across conditions, baseline to midtreatment improvements in psychological inflexibility, valued action, cognitive fusion, and mindfulness all predicted baseline to posttreatment improvements in psychological distress. Improvements in psychological inflexibility more strongly predicted improvements in positive mental health in the MBSR condition. Conclusions: Overall, results suggest the potential benefits of both ACT and MBSR self-help books for improving student mental health and the potential promise of delivering these books through online university library systems.

The efficacy and optimal matching of an Internet‐based acceptance and commitment therapy intervention for depressive symptoms among university students: A randomized controlled trial in China

“…Positive mental health was significantly improved relative to the WLC at posttest ( d = 0.59), and this effect remained at the 3‐month follow‐up ( d = 0.39). This result is consistent with previous studies which found that the iACT interventions could not only reduce depressive symptoms, but also improve participants' positive mental health (Levin, An, et al, 2020; Levin, Krafft, et al, 2020; Pots et al, 2016).…”

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mental Health of College Students: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…College students may gain benefits from online telemedicine to improve wellness and boost coping strategy such as empathic listening, psychoeducation, or supportive therapy (Hatta, 2020). Some studies have shown that self-help mindfulness therapy can improve psychological distress, positive mental health, and academic distress in college students, as well as what was expected to increase resilience and reduce depression anxiety and stress in other adults who need psychotherapy (Javedani et al, 2017;Levin et al, 2020). In addition, the society, colleges and universities, families, and students should take effective actions in time to prevent the occurrence of adverse psychology of college students during the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

Associations between psychological inflexibility and mental health problems during the COVID-19 pandemic: A three-level meta-analytic review

“…Previous studies have demonstrated the benefits of ACT-based interventions for non-suicidal self-injury ( Callahan et al, 2021 ), PTSD symptoms ( Grau et al, 2020 ), and PI ( Pakenham et al, 2020 ). Given the particular situation of the COVID-19 pandemic, ACT self-help books or online ACT interventions could be effectively employed ( Huang et al, 2021 ), which have proved to be effective in prior studies ( Probst et al, 2019 ; Levin et al, 2020 ). Evidence-based interventions using (online) ACT or other strategies to mitigate PI and improve mental health in different populations is also warranted.…”